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| A gray squirrel adding leaf insulation to its winter shelter photo by Jonathan Schechter The black squirrels of Oakland County are not some kind of rare species. As a matter of fact there is no such species as a 'black squirrel'. Black squirrels are in fact a rather common melanistic variation of our eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis), the squirrel species that once dominated the great unbroken forests of New England and the Midwest. Some biologists have claimed that nationwide about one of every 10,000 gray squirrels is black. I think that figure is way, way off. My guess, maybe 1 in 20 in Oakland County are black and litters are often mixed with black and gray siblings from the same mom. Being a black gray squirrel has a great advantage at the dawn of winter: Black fur absorbs heat during the sunny days of a cold winter. My observations seem to show black squirrels are more common in pockets of hardwoods that are biologic "islands" cut off from larger woodlands. And in winter with leaves down we see black squirrels more often than summer since this omniverous forest species flirts with the edge of suburbia and is more than eager to raid your bird feeder. |
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I often see black squirrels in Brantford, Ontario that are black in body but with gray tails and also many that are solid black. More black squirrels here than gray ones.
ReplyDeleteWhen I grew up in Tonawanda (N.Y.) I would always see black squirrels in the park at Niagara Falls Canada.
ReplyDeleteI have also seen them in Ontario, but never in the southern United States.
ReplyDeleteWarren and Dearborn Michigan are full of them, but I never see the grey ones.
ReplyDeleteI reside in Alabama and they are in the Southside/Hokes Bluff area.
ReplyDeleteI have heard stories from my elderly father-in-law about black squirrels on New Liberty Road Near Hokes Bluff, Alabama. I saw one for myself Sunday October 13, 2013. The Alabama Black Squirrel is not just a tale.
ReplyDeleteI live in southeastern Alabama, have been seeing a black squirrel for months on my land. It runs just like a grey fox squirrel. It is a beautiful little animal. I actually got some photos of him this past fall eating pecans under a tree in my backyard.
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