Welcome black!
I hadn't thought much about black squirrels since I saw my first one several years ago. Sightings have become pretty routine in the downtown Kankakee area. -- Not so routine though that I didn't get excited when I saw one in my own yard the other day. I don't know why a black squirrel seems so much better than a gray one, but it does. It's more like having my own personal mink than a bushy-tailed rat.
Black squirrels are really just variations of the Eastern gray squirrel. Their dark, almost silky fur is the result of a genetic variation called melanism, a condition caused by an abundance of black pigmentation -- melanin -- in their skin and hair. (It's the opposite of albinism, where a lack of melanin causes an all-white coat.) Biologists estimate that just one in 10,000 squirrels dons such a dusky coat, so I consider myself fortunate to have one taking up residence in my garden.
Now, if I could just get all the sparrows to turn into bluebirds...
posted by O&E Editor @ 3:26 PM
1 Comments:
I don't know why you thing black squirls are rare. Growing up in central Bradley, all we ever had was brown squirls. Then I bought my own home, all squirls were gray. The bigger brown squirls were chased out by the gray. Now the last year or two all the gray are gone. Now all squirls for several blocks in any direction are black. I am thinking that if I live long enough I should see at least 5 or 6 different color waves of my furry friends.
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