Friday, December 30, 2016

Rare Squirrel

We have one Black/Brown Squirrel.  He lives on the west side of the house and has his home high in an Oak Tree. 

Far Guy put an ear of corn out on the bench…one day he whispered to me “The Black Squirrel is eating on the cob….better grab your camera.”

The photos were taken through the window.Black Squirrel and corn

I think he or she is a Black/Brown Squirrel.  Having one normal gene and one mutant gene.

Black Squirrel

If he/she had two mutant genes he/she would be real dark black.

Shortly after I took these photos the cob disappeared.   The ornery old Gray Squirrels don’t like this Black/Brown Squirrel, they chase him/her.  BUT the Grays were not smart enough to sit up on the bench either…I hope the Black/Brown Squirrel got the cob!

There are some Black Squirrels in town, we used to have one at the Museum.  I have read that only 1 in 10,000 will be a Black or Black-Brown color.

Do you have any Black Squirrels in your area?

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26 comments:

Anonymous said...

I did not know that about squirrel colors. Thanks for the lesson! Such a pretty squirrel you photographed.

Shirley H.

Cathie said...

We had them when I lived in Lakeville.

Kat said...

Thanks Connie! When my sister's children were young she lived in Arlington Virginia and had a black squirrel in the backyard. Loved to watch him when I visited. I had a white squirrel here in Massachusetts for one season.He must have been an albino. Only lasted one season, I heard they get picked off early due to lack of camouflage

Pauline Persing said...

When we camped in Colorado, we saw black squirrels with tufted ears. They were much bigger than the gray squirrels and fox squirrels we are accustomed to in Ohio.

DJan said...

We have black squirrels around here, but they are definitely outnumbered by the grey ones. The black ones also have tufted ears. :-)

Gail said...

It is a beautiful squirrel. We have Fox and Grey.

Intense Guy said...

You would love the white ones in Florida!

Anonymous said...

We have grey and red ones for sure. I am going to pay more attention and look for the black/brown ones now. Thanks for the info!

Silver in AZ said...

You learns something new every day, if you are lucky! I didn't know that about squirrel colors either! We have a lot more wild bunnies around here than we do squirrels, but almost all I see (if not all) ARE brown. No mutant ninja zombie squirrels here. ;)

Tired Teacher said...

Two silver brown squirrels love to tease the neighborhood cats as they scamper across my back fence. A couple of years ago the squirrels had a nest in one of my trees.

Dianne said...

In our area (Kickapoo Valley in WI), we have many, many black squirrels, not uncommon at all. They are so pretty.

Harriet said...

Warren, MI and we have lots of black squirrels. They are not afraid of people...well not so much. One or more continues to climb the bricks and sit on the ledge by my kitchen window often with a bagel or other goodie in his paws.

Rita said...

I first saw black squirrels in Toronto Canada in this beautiful city park back in 1969 (four of us ran away to join a commune--never found one). I had never seen or even heard of a black squirrel before and they were totally mesmerizing! I had read that there have been more of them showing up in the northern US over the years. I am so jealous!! :)

Georgina said...

We have many grey squirrels in London (N American imports and very successful) and I have seen red squirrels in Scotland (smaller and much prettier natives with ear tufts). But I only ever saw black squirrels up near Niagara on the Lake in Canada. Very handsome.

Cynthia said...

I had an albino squirrel for years in Minnesota and the other squirrels were so mean to it. Here in SC we have raccoon squirrels. They look like a squirrel on steroids with a racoonish face. Here's a link to a photo. https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/36/c9/f5/36c9f5f2235b886a3dfad8558bcbaa83.jpg

Terry and Linda said...

Not that I know of...we have lots of gray squirrels and they are all ground squirrels. Terry hates them, but I delight in them.

Linda

Jacqi Stevens said...

Yes! We have more than one, and they seem to stick together. The black ones always look so interesting.

No matter how cute they are, hope none of them find their way inside your roof on these c-c-c-cold days!

Henny Penny said...

Down home in Moore County of NC there were black squirrels. Large black squirrels, called fox squirrels.

L. D. said...

In Iowa the black squirrels are all along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. I lived in Sidney, Iowa my first four years of teaching. The town only had black squirrels. I really liked seeing them. They would come and eat from the persimmon tree in the fall. I never saw any of the in the Grand Rapids area.

Red said...

There's all kinds of competition in the wild.

Granny Marigold said...

Our lot is surrounded by tall evergreens and we see both grey and black squirrels running and jumping from branch to branch. Have not seen one fall yet although some have come close!

Lynda said...

I have never seen a black or combination squirrel before so thanks for sharing!

Linda Reeder said...

Right here in our yard we just have the gray squirrels, but I have seen a brown Douglas squirrel at my SIL's house new Gig Harbor where there is extensive woodland.

Linda W. said...

Very unusual squirrel. Glad you were able to get some photos of him/her.

Bonnie said...

I've never seen one like that, he is beautiful - he almost looks like mink! We have lots of grey squirrels here in Missouri and once in awhile a red one. You sure got some good photos!

Sam I Am...... said...

Beautiful coloring and no, I have never seen a black or black/brown squirrel. Thanks for the info. I'll pay closer attention now.