Comments on: Meet the Black Squirrel

By: ttfn

ttfn — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 09:14:56 +0000

I’ve lived in both Vancouver and Toronto and found the black squirrel to be way more common than the gray one in both urban areas. Now I live just outside Vancouver in the rural countryside, I see more gray ones than black ones. My cat catches the smaller red ones.

By: kph

kph — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 23:03:34 +0000

I moved to Lincoln, NE last July and saw my first and only black squirrel. In Madison, WI, there were none. What is their favorite food? I’d like to have him stay around.

By: sefa

sefa — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 22:43:26 +0000

vonskippy, you beat me to it.

The first and only time I saw a black squirrel was on the UBC campus in Vancouver. I posted a pic to my smugmug page and (sort of) jokingly referred to him as an “African-Canadian” squirrel.

By: Duke

Duke — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:08:04 +0000

Have lots of grey squirrels (actually more brownish red, but I don’t assign the names) here in San Antonio, but I recently noticed a couple of black ones close by. They also seem to be larger than the greys. Unfortunately one I’ve kept my eye on ended up as road kill a week ago, so I don’t have him to look out for!

By: Beakman world

Beakman world — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 19:17:37 +0000

fact,do you know their is another type of squirrels, that also exsit in the good U S of A and that is the reddish brown squirrel.The main rereason,is when one species split off of one another.Mutation and enviormental factors,can also play a big role.I,m Beakman and now I,m lost.

By: Frau

Frau — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 18:52:04 +0000

I have seen Black Tassel Eared squirrels in my area, just outside of Albuquerque NM.
They really stand out compared to the regular ol’ brown squirrel.

By: Morgan

Morgan — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:04:19 +0000

We definitely have more black squirrels in my neighbourhood here east of Toronto, in fact, that’s all I see in my yard.

By: OneMoreGadget

OneMoreGadget — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 06:37:38 +0000

Really thought this was a joke at first. Canadians only seem to have black squirrels. That’s all we have…never seen a red squirrel in my life. Black ones are everywhere. I’ve seen thousands upon thousands in my life time.
This must be an april fools day joke or something.

By: Just another Alex

Just another Alex — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 05:02:02 +0000

Yeah, as my fellow Ontarians have said, there are lots of black squirrels where we live. Ad to everyone who mentioned the odd white squirrel, we have a bunch of them too. Exeter, Ontario, has a bunch of ‘em, and their not albino. Just white.

By: JamesM

JamesM — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 22:49:48 +0000

I saw nothing but Black Squirrels in DC and Maryland areas (Chevy Chase Circle, for example, tons.) but haven’t really seen them anywhere else. I remember commenting to my friend’s parents that they looked kind of cute and they shot me an evil look. Apparently they tend to be a bit more bold, tenacious and destructive than most squirrels. In Chicago, they all run away from people…

By: Mar

Mar — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 19:17:30 +0000

I was pretty amazed to find out that black squirrels are as uncommon as this article explains. I live in south-western Ontario (Canada) and it is actually quite rare to see a grey or a red squirrels; black squirrels are everywhere!

By: Eleni

Eleni — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 15:33:43 +0000

I also live in Ottawa and I rarely see gray squirrels. The black ones are everywhere, though.
And my cat keeps catching red ones.

By: Mouserz

Mouserz — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 10:54:07 +0000

HEY HEY HEY, African-American squirrel thank you very much.

By: Beatrix Kiddo

Beatrix Kiddo — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 08:10:40 +0000

I’ve lived in south, north, and central Florida and Grey squirrels are EVERYWHERE. I’ve never seen a black one. I’ll have to keep an eye out.

By: juneberry

juneberry — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 04:45:49 +0000

I grew up in Westchester County NY (someone else mentioned it) and there were tons of black squirrels there. My neighbor made friends with one and it would sit on his shoulder. I had no idea they were rare.

By: rataplan

rataplan — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 04:07:11 +0000

I live in Toronto and last summer I saw a white squirrel in Trinity Bellwoods park.

By: Wafflesnfalafel

Wafflesnfalafel — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 03:55:06 +0000

We don’t have any black squirrels in Seattle, just greys and the native small brown ones, but just north across the boarder they are all over Vancouver, BC.

By: Zach

Zach — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 02:27:10 +0000

The Curse of the Black Squirrel…

http://www.sua.umn.edu/handyandy/HandyAndyIII.jpg

By: Nate Derby

Nate Derby — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 21:40:38 +0000

Love these little bastards! Toronto is swarming with them…used to feed them peanuts right of my hand when I lived up there. Just grey’s down here in Western NY though…

By: s@m

s@m — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 21:11:44 +0000

Seems like all the squirrels in NW Arkansas are red. Black and grey ones sound exotic. I’ve never seen a light brown one like Secret Squirrel.

By: Luci

Luci — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:38:13 +0000

I was wondering if anyone would mention KSU. The campus is literally crawling with black squirrels! I love seeing them, as they are relatively rare in Akron where I live. It’s weird considering the short distance between the two cities, but I pretty much only see them in Kent.

By: D

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:32:15 +0000

There are pockets of white squirrels in some Twin City suburbs. They are not albino – they have black eyes. Those are very cool.

By: Bill

Bill — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:15:42 +0000

A neighbor from Michigan brought a bunch of black squirrels with him and now we have them in our community in east Tennessee. It’s funny to see people do a double-take, as they previously were not common here.

By: EEM

EEM — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:52:50 +0000

These guys are all over the south bay. I LOVE THEM!

By: Gauldar

Gauldar — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:52:49 +0000

Do red squirrels taste different from black ones? In Ontario I can agree we have always had a large supply of the black ones.

By: Persephone

Persephone — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:45:02 +0000

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. Black squirrels are much more common where I work, while gray squirrels predominate where I live. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a red squirrel. I figured the black squirrels moved here for the art scene.

By: C.C.

C.C. — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:11:38 +0000

In N.W. Wisconsin I’ve just started noticing a rise in black squirrels, normally we just see grey and red, but I’ve seen more of the black ones in the last couple years.

By: raykylefit

raykylefit — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:58:37 +0000

it really is funny that they are so rare. i went to school in DC and there are ONLY black squirrels–especially in the Georgetown area. they were remarkably friendly, too.

DC also had a few albino squirrels, too. when i moved there, i had no idea the squirrels would leave such an impression.

By: Eri

Eri — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:38:44 +0000

…Odd. You can’t look at the window in Ohio without seeing like 5 black squirrels. I had no idea they were rare.

By: rosekat

rosekat — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:34:52 +0000

Yeah they really are the majorty in Southern Ontario. I’ve observed them to be more aggressive than the grey squirrels. They are scrappers to be sure, many with scars and frayed tails. They are the ones who will jump on your face for no reason.

By: Rexmons

Rexmons — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:13:21 +0000

The Bronx Zoo is overrun by Black Squirrels.

By: Nat

Nat — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:10:07 +0000

Only one in ten thousand are black? I guess no one told the squirrels in Vancouver, because I’m pretty sure most of them are black. We have a ton of them here on the island too.

By: nafalie

nafalie — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:50:36 +0000

When I visited Toronto several years ago my mom and I saw a black squirrel downtown and we had never seen one and my mom being as strange as she is, started making a clicking noise and soon the park area was filled with black squirrels. I thought it was a Canadian thing or my mom has a special black squirrel calling gift.

By: linty

linty — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:02:10 +0000

also from ottawa and i had no idea they were rare. They eat out of my garbage can daily.

Not a huge fan of them though, they look kind of rat-like.

By: smee

smee — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:39:36 +0000

everyone knows that black squirrels come from mirkwood forest.

By: Kev

Kev — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:07:48 +0000

I was going to say that black squirrels are somewhat more common than greys here in Southern Ontario, but I see everyone else in Ontario beat me to it.

It’s the little red monsters that are more rare.

By: Padraig

Padraig — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:01:30 +0000

Loads of them in the backyard…

By: ted

ted — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 11:40:16 +0000

Funny myopic attitude in the article. You haven’t seen a black squirrel before, so it must be something unusual.

Say, I’ve heard about a new species of bird on the rise. It can’t even fly, and it lives mostly in cold climates. It’s called a penguin – ever heard of it? Ever seen one? No, I bet you haven’t, but you may be seeing one soon!

By: BikerRay

BikerRay — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 11:01:27 +0000

Another Ontarian (Ontarioan?) here… Agreed, just about all the squirrels here are black. Unless you seem them on the road, in which case they’re red and black.

By: Jamie

Jamie — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 07:15:06 +0000

Ditto on the black squirrels in DC. I also saw a white squirrel on the field outside Navy Med in Bethesda, MD.

By: BSmith

BSmith — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 07:12:32 +0000

We’ve always called them the black squirrels of Arlington- there’s always been quite a few of them here just outside of Washington, DC. I did some reading and found that they were introduced to the DC area at the beginning of the 20th century at the National Zoo.

By: Johnny Cat

Johnny Cat — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 06:04:21 +0000

Never seen a black squirrel, but I agree that the animal’s tendency to not get out of the way is annoying. George Costanza would agree.

By: JoeD

JoeD — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 05:48:47 +0000

Never seen a black squirrel in Fairfax, VA. However, I’ve trapped over 30 grey ones in my yard. They’ve made a nest in the roof of my patio and have eaten away at the patio wood and the wood on my kids’ playset. Once upon a time I thought they were cute. Now, I HATE them.

By: conanismyidol

conanismyidol — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 05:32:43 +0000

I went to Kent State University in Ohio and the campus has tons of black squirrels everywhere. They are so cute. Our radio station was named “Black Squirrel Radio” and there is even a “Black Squirrel Festival” that happens each year.

By: astrodex

astrodex — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 04:51:50 +0000

I never saw one here (Boston) until about 5 years ago and now I see them about once a week. Not sure how many squirrels I see in a week. Ten thousand seems like a lot. They don’t seem to be as black as the one in the photo. More of a very dark brown.

By: Chelsea

Chelsea — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 04:47:34 +0000

Uhh, black squirrels have been in Iowa for like, ever.

By: Emmers

Emmers — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 04:27:56 +0000

Black squirrels are extremely common around where i live (southwestern Ontario). Probably half of all squirrels i see are black.

By: sandyra

sandyra — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 04:20:40 +0000

Oh! I forgot. We also have the tiny gray squirrels which we call “fairy squirrels”. They are very small, quick and hard to see. Sometimes you think a leaf is falling off a tree but it’s really a fairy squirrel.

By: sandyra

sandyra — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 04:18:17 +0000

We have black squirrels and the regular red/brown kind in mid-Michigan on Olivet College campus but we have one squirrel that has a black body and a red tail.

By: Miss Cellania

Miss Cellania — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 03:31:48 +0000

There are plenty of black squirrels here in southeast Kentucky. About half the squirrels in my old neighborhood were black. And they arre much smaller than the gray squirrels, so I thought they were a different breed.