Albino Squirrel.

Posted by Alex in Animal, Pictures on July 20, 2006 at 1:02 pm



Photo: Donita Clausen

It’s hard to be an albino, especially if you’re a squirrel:

The truth is, the squirrel is lucky to still be alive. Albino squirrels have a very short life expectancy because they are easily seen by both predators and prey due to their obvious lack of camouflage.

Arkansas City Traveler has got the scoop: Link - via Arbroath

Update 7/21/06: Akiro wrote: Noticed the white squirrel link so I figured the “Home of the White Squirrel” Olney, Illinois may interest you. Olney protects its white furry friends and as a result the recessive trait of being albino has become displayed in a large portion of their squirrels.

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COMMENT

11 comments to "Albino Squirrel."

  1. Rick
    July 20th, 2006 at 1:41 pm

    This is so odd that you post this because I just came across an albino squirrel myself in my neighborhood when I was out for a run. It surprised the heck out of me.

  2. tom
    July 20th, 2006 at 2:01 pm

    Predators and prey? Even if the acorns and nuts see the squirrel, they don’t have the means to get away from them in time.

    Predators, yes. Prey, not so much.

  3. BJN
    July 20th, 2006 at 3:10 pm

    Yeah, the “prey” comment got my attention too. I have a photo somewhere in my slide collection of an albino squirrel in a Salt Lake City park. Maybe urban albino squirrels don’t have to worry so much about predators - any more than white cats and small dogs.

  4. Perceive
    July 20th, 2006 at 5:32 pm

    Squirrels are omnivores. They eat insects, small birds, frogs, other mammals, in addition to nuts, of course.

  5. BengalBob
    July 20th, 2006 at 9:54 pm

    We have a great number of albino squirrels here at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green.

  6. jerminate
    July 21st, 2006 at 8:59 am

    In Brevard, NC, there’s a yearly white squirrel festival, and you can see the little buggers everywhere. Doesn’t seem like their visibility is hurting them any…

  7. Akiro
    July 21st, 2006 at 11:53 am

    Olney, Illinois is “home of the white squirrel” and the white squirrels are actually protected to increase their numbers and cause the recessive trait to be displayed in the majority of the squirrel population.

  8. Pandybat
    July 21st, 2006 at 5:43 pm

    An argument as old as time……..

    http://www.roadsideamerica.com/set/squirrels.html

    “Olney has overhyped themselves, according to a Marionville, Missouri, spokesperson, also publicized as Home of the White Squirrels. “They’ve got our backs up,” Marionville told us, an opinion they’ve held ever since Olney appeared making preemptive superiority claims on the Today Show in 1965. Marionville believes the squirrels arrived in town “just after the Civil War” and that they escaped from a traveling circus. “The squirrels in Olney were kidnapped from Marionville,” they explain.”

    “Marionville claims to possess the largest, oldest colony of white squirrels in the world, around 300 to 600 here since at least 1854. The local Lions Club actively encourages the squirrels, building little wooden dwellings and planting nut-bearing trees. Marionville even contains a White Squirrel Bed and Breakfast, where visiting humans can stay.”

  9. alyshia
    July 22nd, 2006 at 6:38 pm

    Exeter Ontario Canada is the home of the white squirrles in my area! http://www.whitesquirrels.ca/why.htm

  10. alex
    September 3rd, 2006 at 9:04 pm

    one time i was in washington dc at the mall near the washingotn memorial

    and i saw two albino squirrels together

  11. Barbara Reese
    July 25th, 2007 at 7:43 pm

    My friend in Ashford, Connecticut has had a white squirrel living in her yard for two years now. She thinks it is the same one. How long do they live and what can you do to protect it.


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