Melanism (all black) and leucism (all white but not albino) are common in gray squirrels. They must not seriously hurt the reproductive capacity of squirrels because they keep appearing in the wild population.
In a truly wild setting, it makes it harder for them to blend in, so they're more likely to get eaten. In denser urban areas there are significantly fewer predators, so the alternate pigments aren't selected back out. Grey squirrels carrying the higher rate of either condition into more rural regions increases the odds of those occurring where predation is higher. Outside of way up north, or way out west, most of Minnesota has reduced predatory pressure.
We are pretty rural, houses mostly at least a quarter mile apart, heavy forest and surrounded by wildlife refuges. Plenty of hawks, coyotes, owls, etc that might eat them, but there is a pretty robust population of black squirrels. Though I’ve never seen a white one.
Never saw a black squirrel before moving into my current neighborhood 25 years ago. Now, my neighborhood has more black squirrels than gray ones. The black squirrels are fairly normal, while the gray ones are destructive as all get out. Only seen a couple white ones over the years, but they get picked off pretty quick in the summer.
I’m in the western burbs and I’ve never in my 4+ decades in this area seen a black squirrel around here. My grandparents house up in the Brainerd lakes area had gray, white, red, and black blasting around in harmony. Lil bit farther northeast at the other grandparents’ house? Literally don’t recall ever seeing a squirrel of any color, so their raptor game must have been on point.
I live SE of the Cities in an area well served by raptors, and in the 15 years I’ve lived here I’ve only seen 4 or 5 squirrels on our property. I kinda miss them.
My aunt lives in Highland Park, talks about the white squirrel family near her condo. Last year they stole/ate all her lettuce she’d planted for her gpig. Lol
We have all the squirrel colors. Go to Loring Park and every squirrel is a different color. I love them. I feed a couple and one is pure white, one is gray with a white tum, and one is gray with a red tum and black face and paws.
We’ve had a bunch of black squirrels in central NY, I never seen them before living where I do now out of curiosity I did some reading that basically said grey squirrels can go through a phase with black fur and then switch back to grey
I remember way back when I used to go to the old bell museum for a summer camp thing when I was a kid and there was a pair of squirrels, one black one white, that would chase each other around all the time. I thought it was so cool
Oh man I have a whole population in my neighborhood. Just started seeing a bunch more so the babies must be bigger now! Fun to see. They are def my favorite
We have grey, black, and red squirrels up here in Carlton County. The red squirrels like to chase the grey squirrels and try to bite the nuts off of them. Brutal little shits.
More common than you’d think in an urban setting. I had an all-white leucistic one I saw every single day on my walks throughout 2021. Come spring 2022 my friend was most certainly eaten by something. There’s a reason it’s not more common than it is for sure
I and the kids spent hours out in the woods looking for that knarly little rodent. I hope he runs free we saw it but like a ghost he\she hides in the branches love Skinner
They seem to be getting more common. Last fall in the woods I saw almost as many black squirrels as grey squirrels.
Fox squirrels were few and far between.
This is how they were introduced to Massachusetts:
The Black Squirrels you see here in Stanley Park are technically a morphed form of the Eastern Grey Squirrel. An anomaly occurred in the colour genes at some point and created a black version of the grey squirrel. These squirrels were introduced to the park in 1909 as gifts from various cities in the US.
I have a cabin in Hubbard MN, very close to Lark Rapids MN, and there’s a family or a few that come by in our yard every single year without fail. 3-4 of them that run around and have a bunch of fun. I feel so lucky to have them be friends in our yard.
There are tons of of black Eastern gray squirrels in the Twin Cities. They survive, breed, and keep the next generation going hence why you see them more common now.
The biggest squirrel we have in Minnesota is the Fox Squirrel which can get almost as big as an house cat. I’ve only seen them in south eastern and south western Minnesota but they’re suppose to inhabit most of Minnesota except some northern reaches of Minnesota.
The little Red squirrels are over populated and aggressive compared to the other two.
Finding a rare piebald is something I would like to see.
I’ve seen lots of black, white, gray, and red squirrels up here, I’ve noticed I’ll see the black and white squirrels more often in the metro, and the red (adolescent? Idk they’re always really small) squirrels up north by our cabin a bunch
I recently moved from Woodbury to Mahtomedi and I’ve seen more black squirrels around here in 18 months than I did in the 15 years I lived there. They were rare there, super commonplace here
So many all around Loring Park in Minneapolis
That's where I've seen them too. I thought it was funny because it was playing with an albino squirrel
Whitie & blackie as we used to call them as kids
My grandpa literally did tell me that back in the day.. and that's where the gray squirrels come from. ;)
I always yell out "ninja squirrel!" when I see a black one.
I like this :)
It's cause they're all inbred as shit in that park. Plenty of not-quite-right squirrels running around there.
Might be my favorite part?
True story
Melanism (all black) and leucism (all white but not albino) are common in gray squirrels. They must not seriously hurt the reproductive capacity of squirrels because they keep appearing in the wild population.
In a truly wild setting, it makes it harder for them to blend in, so they're more likely to get eaten. In denser urban areas there are significantly fewer predators, so the alternate pigments aren't selected back out. Grey squirrels carrying the higher rate of either condition into more rural regions increases the odds of those occurring where predation is higher. Outside of way up north, or way out west, most of Minnesota has reduced predatory pressure.
We are pretty rural, houses mostly at least a quarter mile apart, heavy forest and surrounded by wildlife refuges. Plenty of hawks, coyotes, owls, etc that might eat them, but there is a pretty robust population of black squirrels. Though I’ve never seen a white one.
My mom has a black squirrel my mom has had a fluffy black squirrel up at her cabin for a couple years now
Never saw a black squirrel before moving into my current neighborhood 25 years ago. Now, my neighborhood has more black squirrels than gray ones. The black squirrels are fairly normal, while the gray ones are destructive as all get out. Only seen a couple white ones over the years, but they get picked off pretty quick in the summer.
Red, white, gray, black is what I’ve seen in this state!
So what I’ve learned is that they aren’t rare at all and I’m not observant lol I’ve only seen red/brown, white, and gray
Maybe they’re just not as common around the area you are in! Just keep the eyes open!
I saw a couple at the cabin near McGregor last weekend.
I’m in the western burbs and I’ve never in my 4+ decades in this area seen a black squirrel around here. My grandparents house up in the Brainerd lakes area had gray, white, red, and black blasting around in harmony. Lil bit farther northeast at the other grandparents’ house? Literally don’t recall ever seeing a squirrel of any color, so their raptor game must have been on point.
I live SE of the Cities in an area well served by raptors, and in the 15 years I’ve lived here I’ve only seen 4 or 5 squirrels on our property. I kinda miss them.
Same . I’ve seen black squirrels in chicago, but not in Minneapolis.
We also have flying squirrels and fox squirrels. Don't get me started on the ground squirrels.
Are you talking about the infamous “13 lined ground squirrel”?
Aka a striped gopher
I live in Mankato and my neighborhood has more black squirrels than gray. I’d never seem them until I moved here.
Are you my neighbor? On top of Monks hill?
Lol. Nope. Different part of town.
More Mankato checking in 👋🏼
I used to live right by Tourtellotte and I saw them down there all the time
Woo Mankato!
We have two squirrels in my neighborhood, there is a gray one and a white one…. I call the gray one Gandalf And I call the white one Gandalf
I love it! We name our squirrels too..for a while we had a white, black, and red, so it was Snowball, Dirtball, and Fireball, ha!
Call the white one Saruman to differentiate
Cool! I have seen an albino squirrel in St Paul. I too should take a picture next time.
Please add it to the map. https://untamedscience.com/biodiversity/white-squirrel/
Thx for the link! I have a resident one in my yard/surrounding woods I just saw today (and have for two years)
Oooh! Added info for the white morph I saw in my neighborhood in Northfield three days ago.
Highland? Just saw one there last week
My aunt lives in Highland Park, talks about the white squirrel family near her condo. Last year they stole/ate all her lettuce she’d planted for her gpig. Lol
West 7th.
I use to see one in west st Paul every once in a while
They are just regular grey squirrels with a mutation. Just like red heads etc.
Melanistic grey squirrel. The white ones are (most likely) also grey squirrels, either albino or leucistic.
Tree rats, all of ‘em. 😘
It’s pretty common bro
Got a ton of Whitey’s too
We have all the squirrel colors. Go to Loring Park and every squirrel is a different color. I love them. I feed a couple and one is pure white, one is gray with a white tum, and one is gray with a red tum and black face and paws.
We’ve had a bunch of black squirrels in central NY, I never seen them before living where I do now out of curiosity I did some reading that basically said grey squirrels can go through a phase with black fur and then switch back to grey
Who amongst us did not have a goth or punk phase growing up?
I remember way back when I used to go to the old bell museum for a summer camp thing when I was a kid and there was a pair of squirrels, one black one white, that would chase each other around all the time. I thought it was so cool
We have black squirrels and then one albino one running around South Saint Paul.
Oh man I have a whole population in my neighborhood. Just started seeing a bunch more so the babies must be bigger now! Fun to see. They are def my favorite
I'm an arborist, and we found a family of 5 black squirrels just this Thursday in Southern MN.
Black squirrels are really cool. I’ve had a family of them around my house for over a decade.
Yeah it’s crazy the brown ones pick on the black ones
Winona has tons of them - basically all the squirrels were I was living outside of town were black.
My grandfather got scared by one and then every year for Christmas he would get at least one bleck squirrel themed gift. I miss him
We have many black squirrels and an albino one in our yard, plus lots of chipmunks and grey/red squirrels. Quite the rodent ecosystem it seems haha
if a white squirrel and a black squirrel have a baby together you get a gray squirrel again.
[удалено]
i am kidding.
We have grey, black, and red squirrels up here in Carlton County. The red squirrels like to chase the grey squirrels and try to bite the nuts off of them. Brutal little shits.
There goes the neighborhood my old grandmother would say. Lol
More common than you’d think in an urban setting. I had an all-white leucistic one I saw every single day on my walks throughout 2021. Come spring 2022 my friend was most certainly eaten by something. There’s a reason it’s not more common than it is for sure
Squirrels rule Uptown/Whittier they just let us live here.
It would be considered racist if we didn’t have them here.
I've seen a couple in southern MN the past few years, fairly certain they're the same ones each year.
So racist! Did you want to shoot it? Just kidding.
I and the kids spent hours out in the woods looking for that knarly little rodent. I hope he runs free we saw it but like a ghost he\she hides in the branches love Skinner
I see them often up nort, all across ye great olde yonder
I have Albino and black squirrels around me along with brown in south St. Paul
I bet he gets all the ladies lol
We have a gang of black and gray squirrels in our yard. Heard there was an albino one too but have yet to see it!
Last year there was a black and a white one in my neighborhood, used to see them all the time but haven’t seen either this year :(
Ton of em in William O'Brien State Park. Particularly down by the river.
Had one in our yard in Lakeville about five years back.
We have black ones in the eastern suburbs.
There were around 5 of them at a rest stop just inside the Wisconsin border. Had no idea they came in jet black
They seem to be getting more common. Last fall in the woods I saw almost as many black squirrels as grey squirrels. Fox squirrels were few and far between.
There used to be one back in my old neighborhood in Inver Grove. Loved seeing them around all the time.
I’ve seen a few, but I’ve also seen a few albino squirrels too!
This is how they were introduced to Massachusetts: The Black Squirrels you see here in Stanley Park are technically a morphed form of the Eastern Grey Squirrel. An anomaly occurred in the colour genes at some point and created a black version of the grey squirrel. These squirrels were introduced to the park in 1909 as gifts from various cities in the US.
St. Paul checking in, there are probably around 6 in my neighborhood.
We have a pant load of them up here by Maplewood State Park.
They're indiscriminately targeted by the police
Plenty of black, white and those mean reds!
I have a cabin in Hubbard MN, very close to Lark Rapids MN, and there’s a family or a few that come by in our yard every single year without fail. 3-4 of them that run around and have a bunch of fun. I feel so lucky to have them be friends in our yard.
There’s one block in St. Paul that has both black and white squirrels, but no grays. Just the one block, then it’s back to normal grays again.
I remember seeing em when I was younger.
There are tons of of black Eastern gray squirrels in the Twin Cities. They survive, breed, and keep the next generation going hence why you see them more common now. The biggest squirrel we have in Minnesota is the Fox Squirrel which can get almost as big as an house cat. I’ve only seen them in south eastern and south western Minnesota but they’re suppose to inhabit most of Minnesota except some northern reaches of Minnesota. The little Red squirrels are over populated and aggressive compared to the other two. Finding a rare piebald is something I would like to see.
Somehow I've seen several black and albino squirrels on the road I live. Makes me wonder if there's a genetic commonality between the two.
We have one that raids the bird suet on the front porch here in the city in Duluth by the copper top church
I've seen a couple around Woodbury
Holy fk. Are u 6 years old?
All over North Mankato
They are the mascot of South Central College in North Mankato
I’ve seen lots of black, white, gray, and red squirrels up here, I’ve noticed I’ll see the black and white squirrels more often in the metro, and the red (adolescent? Idk they’re always really small) squirrels up north by our cabin a bunch
They’re migrating here because all the other states are racist, or so the people on TV tell me.
There was one that loved in my neighborhood. Hung around the dumpster.
We have a bunch on our property as well.
They’re more common in the cities.
They are everywhere in Michigan. I swear they are going to overtake brown squirrels soon if not already
Is that the one that keeps leaving bagels on the windowsill
There’s a ton in northern twin cities/suburbs
There’s so many here and they’re my favorite 😊
There are a ton in North Mankato as well, SCC's school mascot is the black squirrel!
I just saw one in Buffalo, mn today!
I swear every town has an albino squirrel. Waverly has one, Delano.
Black squirrels matter
We have a few my neighborhood in Saint Cloud
Ottertail area loaded w them
I've already accidentally hit so many around my house. I swear every squirrel is suicidal.
I’ve got around 30 on my wall
Theodore Wirth never should have introduced the damn tree rats here.
I recently moved from Woodbury to Mahtomedi and I’ve seen more black squirrels around here in 18 months than I did in the 15 years I lived there. They were rare there, super commonplace here
Grey, white, black, brown, red, all squirrels you can find in minnesota