Black Squirrel (Grey)

Doubt that.

I saw one in Sacramento. The ranger on Mt Diablo told me that there are hybrids of fox and grey on Mt Diablo.

That would be rare. Other then the South Bay I haven't heard of any. They would only drive them out of that area not the rest of the state.

I was extremely surprised to find one in Concord in Markham Nature reserve,

Jemma I don't believe any are in the Contra Costa Co. they are mostly in the Santa Clara Co. Spotted one at Ardenwood and the others from Sunnyvale to Meno Park.

it;s time they made the law,Hardly any Western Greys left.

I don't know where in the SF Bay area would be having hunting for Black Squirrels. Most ours are in public parks or backyards. I grew up with them in our yard. Maybe in Stanford since I've yet to see one on the property.

Yea, they are both introduced species. Fortunately, for the Western Gray, it is larger than the Eastern so there is little concern that the Eastern will become a nuisance for the Western. However, the Fox squirrel is much larger than both and is great competition for the two other. I learned that in California and the west coast all three are on the hunting table with a bag limit. I am not for hunting but they should educate hunters to only target the introduced species.

Thnx for this imp clue about the tail. i will have to go thru my squirrel collection to see if i have any. I recently found out that the Eastern Grey Squirrel is one of the introduced species in California ,besides the Fox.

I think the I.D. is correct Jemma. The tail is very short compared to the body length which is indicative of the Eastern. Melanism is also indicative of the Eastern as well. There are many documents related to the Eastern's melanism.

Jellis,how do you differentiate the Eastern Grey from the Western Grey?

Thanks Jellis. I am aware of melanism. Based on all the research I did (there were various black squirrels in the mission) it seems that the Fox squirrels, an introduced species in your area, are displacing the Western Gray squirrels. A terrible shame. I don't know if traditionally the southern population of the Western Gray squirrel had entire black populations similar to the Eastern Gray squirrel that you have spotted. I can only pass you the historic information about the Eastern Gray squirrels. Thanks and have a lovely afternoon!

Melanism, or melanosis, is a condition caused by a genetic mutation that gives a bird ... Dark Morphs and Melanism.
They are not a subspecies and yes they are displacing the Fox Squirrels in the locations. They only are around Grey Squirrels. You will not see any Blacks without Greys.

Hi Jellis, What a lovely spotting. I have removed it from the Rare Color Morphs mission. Black or melanistic forms of the Eastern Gray Squirrel are quite common. In fact, historically, the majority were black and the majority of them in SE Canada and NE U.S. continue to be black. I'm not surprised that you see they are spreading. They are an introduced species to the west coast and no matter where they are introduced they thrive. They are quite resourceful. Fortunately, they are not displacing other species in your area or becoming invasive. Thanks, happy spotting, and happy new year!

Thanks, it surprised me that it was so close to the trail and this far north. I mostly see these further south in the south bay. I grew up seeing these in our backyards and the park down the street. Shows they are spreading.

Great photos!