Guernsey’s most famous wildlife stowaway has been spotted again.
The GSPCA has received multiple reports over the last week of ‘Elvis’ the grey squirrel, being seen around the St Sampson area.
Elvis first leaped to the public’s attention in February last year after jumping off a ferry, having hitched a ride in a vehicle over to Guernsey.
Guernsey doesn’t have native squirrels, having separated from mainland Europe more than 10,000 years ago, so the news made national headlines – with even BBC Radio 1 going ‘nuts’ over it.
A major search and capture operation involving the GSPCA and the States of Guernsey in the St Sampson and Delancey areas was launched to locate and safely trap Elvis.
But, after months without any sightings the search was scaled back.
Healthy… and very fast
As grey squirrels are classed as an invasive species authorities are legally unable to release them into the wild in the island, if captured.
However, recent sightings suggest Elvis is looking healthy, active and extremely fast, making him difficult to photograph and even harder to track.
GSPCA Manager Steve Byrne said: “As far as we are aware, Elvis remains the first and only squirrel to live wild in Guernsey, certainly in living memory.”
“Guernsey simply doesn’t have a native squirrel population, which makes every sighting particularly unusual and exciting.”
Mr Byrne added: “He has become a bit of a local celebrity and many people have followed his story since he first arrived.
“It is remarkable that after all this time he continues to evade capture and appears to be doing so well.”
The GSPCA would like to hear from anyone who spots Elvis and asks that any sightings are reported with as much detail as possible, including the location, date, time and, if possible, photographs.
