[photo via petergtrimming on Flickr]
You might text your friends when you see a small animal scurry by, but the government of Aberdeen, Scotland is asking you to keep them in the loop too. A program designed to keep an eye on gray and red squirrel populations is asking residents to text their squirrel sightings to a special number.
The program, called “Text-a-Squirrel”, ran last October with impressive success. 154 people reported sightings, giving researchers with the group Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels valuable information on the number of squirrels in the area and where they congregate. According to the group’s website, there are only around 121,000 red squirrels left in Scotland, and Scottish environment minister Roseanna Cunningham called them one of the most “iconic and beautiful species” in Scotland. This program aims to be an innovative way to keep tabs on the protected squirrels and study them using readily-available technology.
Researchers asked that anyone sighting the animals should include where they saw it, either the park, intersection or any other identifying information. I can’t help but think they’d appreciate GPS coordinates from the smartphone users in the city. Don’t know if they’d complain about a cute squirrel photo either, you know, for science.
[via STV]
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