# Black squirrels



## reznap (Apr 15, 2010)

I think these are unique to Ohio.. because I've never seen one anywhere else.  You guys let me know..

Nothing special photo-wise..


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## pbelarge (Apr 15, 2010)

reznap

Do you know how black squirrels came to be?

This is an evolution thing...


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## reznap (Apr 15, 2010)

erose86 said:


> He's cute!  I want one!!!!
> 
> ...I have never seen a black squirrel in PA........ I've seen an ALBINO squirrel... where I used to work... I named him Frank.... but I've never seen a black one.  :sillysmi:



These pictures don't do them justice... wish I could have got one of a black next to a red/brown one.  They're DARK and very eye-catching.


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## reznap (Apr 15, 2010)

pbelarge said:


> reznap
> 
> Do you know how black squirrels came to be?
> 
> This is an evolution thing...



I heard some BS story about them being bred at a nearby college.  Care to enlighten me?


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## Phranquey (Apr 15, 2010)

erose86 said:


> I've seen an ALBINO squirrel... where I used to work... I named him Frank


 
layball:



Here's another Ohio native...


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## reznap (Apr 15, 2010)

erose86 said:


> Phranquey said:
> 
> 
> > erose86 said:
> ...



Not like you named him "Milky"

---_Me Myself & Irene_ reference... no offense intended, lol.

EDIT:  Ohhh I see, his name "Phranquey"  =  "Frankie"


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## pbelarge (Apr 15, 2010)

Enlightenment Cometh 


During the industrial revolution, vast amounts of smog produced tons of soot that clung to the bark of trees (buldings as well), making the bark darker in color. the squirrels in the worst offended areas evolved with a darker coat to help protect/hide them from predators.


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## Phranquey (Apr 15, 2010)

pbelarge said:


> Enlightenment Cometh


 
:thumbup:


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## klotzishere20 (Apr 15, 2010)

There are a quite a few black squirrels in wisconsin


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## AnneRiceBowl (Apr 15, 2010)

I currently live in Nebraska, and I saw a black squirrel on my way to work one morning and almost ran the poor thing over.  

Also, there is such a thing as "melanism", which is a high amount of pigmentation. This is why cats are solid black, black leopards, black panthers, and other animals in the animal kingdom that are black.


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## K8-90 (Apr 15, 2010)

Since moving to Ontario, ALL the squirrels I've seen are black!


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## Josh220 (Apr 16, 2010)

That's really cool. I have seen dozens of squirrel species but never a black one.

If you see these frequently near your house I would keep practicing on them. Perfect subjects to work on the focus, especially the eyes!


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## LaFoto (Apr 16, 2010)

Unfortunately, one couple of American Grey Squirrels (sciurus carolinensis), who can vary in colour from a light grey to a very dark, almost black grey, was introduced to Cheshire/UK in 1876, and now, 134 years later, the population of European Red Squirrels has almost entirely vanished from the British Isles, and Red Squirrels in other European countries may undergo the same fate now.


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## ceige (Apr 19, 2010)

We have both grey and black in the boston area......red in NH


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## nate_mcnasty (Apr 20, 2010)

pbelarge said:


> Enlightenment Cometh
> 
> 
> During the industrial revolution, vast amounts of smog produced tons of soot that clung to the bark of trees (buldings as well), making the bark darker in color. the squirrels in the worst offended areas evolved with a darker coat to help protect/hide them from predators.



this is taken from Wikipedia  "Today, the black subgroup is particularly abundant in the northern part of the Eastern Grey Squirrel's range.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_squirrel#cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_squirrel#cite_note-3 This is likely due to the significantly increased cold tolerance of black individuals which lose less heat than greys.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_squirrel#cite_note-4Black individuals also enjoy visibility advantages in denser northern forests"

i think your thinking of a the peppered moth http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peppered_moth_evolution


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