WE reported last week on the first sighting of a red squirrel in the village of Luss in several years, but 15 years ago a furry friend of a different kind made the headlines in the Advertiser.

Take a look at this story from our archives from April 8, 2004...

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VISITORS to the national park are being asked to keep a lookout for a furry fiend who has been terrorising feathered friends the length and breadth of Loch Lomond for years.

The American Mink has increased in numbers over the last decade - corresponding with the decline in numbers of a range of other species.

The ferret-like predator, which is still prized for its coat despite worldwide bans on the fur trade, is not native to Britain but has nonetheless adapted with ease to our climate and habitat since being brought here in 1929.

Tarbet resident Bob Furness, who wrote an article on the effects minks have had in the spring Friends of Loch Lomond newsletter, said the voracious killers are undoubtedly on the rise.

He said: “They really shouldn’t be here but they seem to quite like Scotland and they have definitely been spreading. They were originally brought over here for mink farms but some went out of business and they were let out or escaped.”