Wild Things columnist Eric Brown presents the curious wildlife stories you may have missed, including the "killer" squirrels, the prolific egg thief who escaped prison and shock treatment saving scarce ground nesting birds.

We all love red squirrels don't we? These adorable, tree-dwelling sprites are among Britain's most popular native mammals especially as they are threatened by the invasive, big, bad grey squirrel. With their pointy ears, fluffy tail and quizzical nature, red squirrels' "aaaah" factor is almost off the scale. Yet their ancestors may have helped spread a deadly disease to humans in the Middle Ages when red squirrels were kept as pets and their fur used to trim garments. New research indicates red squirrels were hosts for a leprosy strain that caused blindness, paralysis and death among humans. Medieval human and squirrel samples from archaeological sites in Winchester, Hampshire, were analysed by a team from universities in Basel and Leicester. Their conclusions suggest the infection circulated between humans and animals in a way not detected previously. But don't panic. They also concluded squirrels now present no danger to humans even if they carry strains of leprosy bacteria.

Wild Things: Wood ducks on Chislehurst Common

Meanwhile it seems the courts are still reluctant to treat bird crime seriously. A man previously jailed twice for possession of wild bird eggs was expected to be jailed again when he appeared in a Norwich court after being caught on camera stealing nightjar eggs from a Norfolk nature reserve and investigators later discovered 3,000 wild bird eggs at his home. In three raids on his home over 19 years a total of 12,000 eggs have been found. The 71-year-old, described by an RSPB official as a "one-man machine for devastation," escaped with a 12-week sentence, suspended for 18 months when Norwich magistrates heard he was receiving help for mental health issues. Hmmmm.

Rumours of big cats stalking the British countryside have persisted for as long as the Loch Ness monster legend. But now a scientist believes he has proof a leopard prowling wild in the Lake District after matching DNA found on a dead sheep to a non-native large cat. Professor Robin Allaby of the University of Warwick analysed samples from the carcass and claims to have discovered panthera genus DNA which could only have come from a lion, tiger, leopard, snow leopard or jaguar. "A leopard is the most likely source," Professor Allaby told BBC Wildlife Magazine.

Wild Things: All change with a new Government? Don't hold your breath

Another woolly story from Cumbria. Sheep there have been wearing electric shock collars to stop them bothering scarce birds. The collars trigger an electric non-harmful pulse when sheep get too close to ground nesting birds like red-listed skylarks, lapwings and curlews on an RSPB reserve in Geltsdale.