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Sciurus carolinensis
mix of dark brown and black. I've seen a lot of different colored squirrels in my area but never one like this, it was constantly on the move, these photos were all I could get.
easter N. America
I spotted this squirrel in my yard. The first photos is zoomed in and taken with the flash, hence the eyeshine. The last 2 photos were taken through my kitchen window. I didn't want to scare it away by opening my back door. I have some trees around my house and loads of squirrels but its the first time I've seen this guy.
16 Comments
Thanks Fyn. I've very lucky with spotting some cool squirrels.
Another awesome spotting!!!
Thanks Keith
I added it for you, great find!
Thanks Leah, I've been offline for days as I'm traveling off the beaten track in China. Sounds like a cool mission. Can't wait to check out more of it when I get to a better computer. It's really strange, the site looks normal except (and this is a big except!) I can't see any of the photos! Hopefully this will change when I get to a bigger city. As I look at this spotting someone has kindly already added this spotting to it, thanks mystery mission adder!
You should add this to the color variation mission....it's quite a find!
They sure are an interesting color. Almost chocolate lab (dog) in color with a dark undercoat. Very interesting.
Here's another interesting link--never knew about "pocket" populations.
Oh okay Michael, I missed the humour in that one.
@Thanks Ashish
@Heather - There are a few subspecies of the grey squirrel and a lot of genetic variation within them. I don't think its a response to the weather as I see the blond and black squirrels all year. This particular squirrel has seemingly taken up residence in the trees around my house. I saw him again yesterday. Hopefully I can get some more photos of him.
Side note - Since I work in the gardens and grounds around the Falls, I see a lot of tourists. Many of them have never seen a black squirrel and are totally fascinated by them. They are particularly friendly too in the area and will eat out of your hand.
Dan... nice spotting... Love such amazing shade like a Fox for a Squirrel..!!
Micheal you can add all edible (to human) vegetable menu with used in menu and raw vegetable as spotting and add in mission Vegetable varities for Gardeners.
Dan - do you know if these black/brown varieties are that color because of winter? Or are they a subspecies of each other? Our grey squirrels down here stay grey all year - but we are a tad bit warmer in Georgia.
sorry dan, i was just making a joke with the food pic
Thanks Scott and Carolina. It does look more like a cats fur than a squirrel.
Wow the fur looks like a friend's cat!
How cool. Most of the "black" squirrels in my area show a bit of brown mottling in bright sunlight, but I've never seen anything like this.