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Project Noah Nature School
Sciurus carolinensis
What I believe to be a white or albino, Eastern Gray Squirrel
Suburban backyard in trees, gardens and grasses
I believe this, and another one I had coming to my yard, to be albino based on the coloring (all white with pink eyes, ears and paws).but I could be wrong. The two I had didn't last or live as long as the three my parents have in their yard less than three miles away. One was hit by a car in winter down the street from our house and the other simply disappeared, never to be seen again. We also had the common Gray and a Red Squirrel coming around the same time. The Gray seemed to be the dominant and more prolific of the three.
Spotted on Aug 16, 2008
Submitted on Dec 22, 2012
8 Comments
Carol-That's so cool! I've heard there are some in both Isle and Eagan Minnesota but I've never seen an all white or albino deer. I'd love to though. I think some native tribes believed they were special or sacred (white or albino animals in general). As for these squirrels, my parents have three and I had two in my yard back when I lived in the Twin Cities. I haven't seen any up here but have seen/photographed a partial albino or "color morph" Red-tailed Hawk which had an all-white head. Did your deer have brown eyes then or how did you know it was white and not a true albino deer? Just curious... "-)
Fantastic! I saw a white baby deer once (not albino.) This awesome squirrel looks albino.
Reza-Thanks! :-)
Adorable :)
kunzah-I felt blessed getting to see them both in my yard and in my parent's yard however, I had seen one before in a town called Burnsville and in another town called Bloomington (both in Minnesota) and once in a town called St. Paul so I know they're out there, not just in Apple Valley. My dream is to go to a place called Isle Minnesota to see if I can find and photograph their albino deer. They had a couple of them, the last I heard. I'm a sucker for the unusual or unique, regardless the species. :-)
sarahaw1981-Thank you! Unlike my parent's white or albino squirrels, mine never really accepted my presence among them. They were very skittish and rarely appeared during the brightest time of day. I usually saw them more just before dawn and dusk but I'm not sure if that was because of any problem they had being out direct sunlight or whether it was more to protect themselves from predators. I did see them more frequently in winter and on very overcast, cloudy days.
Lucky!
Wonderful sighting you have here :-)