# Traditional Knowledge and Conservation Priorities of Eurasian Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) in Finland

## TL;DR

The Eurasian red squirrel in Finland is declining in boreal forests and moving to urban areas, with potential ecological consequences.

## Contribution

This paper integrates traditional knowledge and scientific data to highlight the red squirrel's cultural and ecological significance.

## Key findings

- Red squirrels are declining in boreal forests and increasingly found in urban habitats.
- Their decline may disrupt boreal food chains and seed dispersal processes.
- Traditional knowledge reveals the squirrel's long-standing cultural importance in Finland.

## Abstract

The Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) has played an important role in Finnish traditional culture and livelihoods since pre‐historic times. This paper analyzes the current role, status, and trends of the red squirrel using both available scientific evidence and testimonies from oral historians who were immersed in Finland's boreal hunting societies during the mid‐1900s. The convergence of observations points to the decline of this iconic mammal of northern forests and increased migration to urban habitats. Red squirrels are not currently seen as being of great relevance to conservation efforts, despite their central role in spreading seeds and in boreal predator–prey food chains. If the animal is lost from Finland's remaining boreal timber forests, their absence may have consequences that are not yet understood. This article contains previously unavailable cultural knowledge of the Eurasian red squirrel, directly curated by knowledge holders. It presents an important nexus of different ways of knowing.

Eurasian red squirrel (
Sciurus vulgaris
) has played an important role in Finnish traditional culture and livelihoods from pre‐historic times. Convergence of observations points to the case where the iconic mammal of the northern forests is in decline and migrating to the urban habitats, with a number of important consequences. If the animal is lost from the remaining boreal timber forest in Finland, their absence may have consequences that are not yet understood.