Protecting the land of the flying squirrel

In order to save an endangered squirrel, Finland has found itself stuck between EU law and its own private property rights. WS Roberts reports from the forest front line

The Siberian flying squirrel is Japanese anime brought to life (Alamy)

On a recent overcast morning in central Finland at the Sipilanpera project site, 22km from the nearest hamlet of Multia, a small group of forestry and conservation executives gathered along a gravel road. Crossing into stands of fall foliage, they stopped where the character of the forest changed to listen to specialist presentations. While the talk ranged between logging, forestry law and habitat protection, the centre of attention was a diminutive if absent mammal: the Siberian flying squirrel.

With its tiny ears, immense pupils and patagium – a cape of skin extending from its front to rear legs that it uses to glide through the forest canopy – the Siberian flying squirrel is Japanese anime brought to life. Spending its days in moss-padded tree cavities and emerging at dusk to feed, it flits from tree to tree and soars across open fields. YouTube videos show the squirrel huddling or peeking out from in its cozy home, a spritely though defenceless thing.

But in Finland, efforts to save the Siberian flying squirrel are redrawing maps of forests and cities alike.