More Madonna, Less Jesus

Black Squirrels

Yesterday I saw two black squirrels near Kresge College. I’ve seen the albino squirrel, but I’ve never seen black squirrels before. I learned from the wikipedia that black squirrels are known among the eastern grey squirrel, but there was no mention of black squirrels among the western grey squirrel.

As a melanistic variety of the Grey Squirrel, individual black squirrels can exist wherever Grey Squirrels live. Grey mating pairs may produce black offspring, and in areas with high concentrations of black squirrels, mixed litters are common.[1] The black subgroup seems to have been dominant throughout North America prior to the arrival of Europeans in the 16th century, since their dark colour helped them hide in virgin forests which tended to be very dense and shaded. As time passed, hunting and deforestation led to biological advantages for grey coloured individuals.[2] Today, the black subgroup is particularly abundant in the northern part of the Eastern Grey Squirrel’s range.[3][4] This is likely due to the significantly increased cold tolerance of black individuals which lose less heat than greys. [5] Black individuals also enjoy visibility advantages in denser northern forests.[1]

The article goes on to point out that the Black Squirrel is a mascot in several universities. I like the sound of that. The Santa Cruz Black Squirrels: “We Dominate in Dense Old Growth Forests!”