A Peek into the Bacterial Microbiome of the Eurasian Red Squirrel ().

Sciurus vulgaris (the Eurasian red squirrel) is native to Europe and Asia, but due to habitat destruction or fragmentation, interspecific competition, and infectious diseases, especially in European island areas the species finds itself at the brink of extinction. The repopulation of such bare habitats requires healthy squirrel specimens, either translocated from other wild habitats or reintroduced to the wilderness following captive breeding. Captivity, nonetheless, has shown an immense capacity to reshape the structure of wild species’ microbiota, adapting it to the less diverse diet and fewer environmental challenges.