THE red squirrel could vanish from a part of the North within 20 years, a biologist warned last night.
The animal has come under increasing threat from the spread of the bigger American grey squirrels.
Dr Peter Lurz, of Newcastle University, said fewer than 1,000 Cumbrian reds survived.
The grey outcompetes the species for food and can pass on a deadly virus. He urged conservation programmes, which have worked for red squirrels in neighbouring Northumberland, to be extended into Cumbria.
Cumbria, along with the North-East, is one of the last strongholds of the red squirrel in the UK.
Research has shown reds have coped better in man-made forests, such as Northumberland's Kielder Forest, whereas greys thrive in broad-leafed woods.
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