Meet the Black Squirrel
You have probably seen the grey. You may even have encountered or at least heard of the red. However, have you ever seen a black squirrel? Take a look at this small but dark beasty of the forest. Oh, and they are really, really cute.
This is the black squirrel. Out of the squirrel population of the United States and Canada perhaps only one in ten thousand is black. However, this is not a separate species in itself. It is in fact a sub-group of the grey squirrel and, little by little their numbers are growing. In fact in some areas they outnumber the greys. However, this black coloring is not a recent trend among the squirrel community – research indicates that in the days before the European settlement of the America the black squirrel was probably much more numerous than the grey.
The Black Squirrel does have some natural advantages over the grey, not least in its photogenic appeal to photographers who still work in black and white. Instead of being a separate species, the Black Squirrel is in fact what is known as a melanistic subgroup. Midwestern North America is their stomping ground although there are groups to be found in the UK (more of which later). Melanism is caused by an increased level of black pigmentation, a compound which determines color called melanin. This subgroup of the Eastern Grey has stacks of melanin and these melanistic traits are the opposite of albinism which occurs when flora or fauna have a lack of the compound.
It’s all about natural selection, so it seems. The Black Squirrels (I am inclined to shorten this to BS but it has rather unfortunate implications) can be found wherever the greys live. It is quite common for two greys to mate and to produce a mixture of black and grey offspring. It seems that the blacks were more common than the greys before European settlement because their darker color enabled them to hide in the dark forests which covered the continent at that time.
Then came the white man! Deforestation happened quickly and the lighter color of the grey squirrel became the one with the most advantage in the remaining space. The blacks do however remain abundant in the northern part of the range of the grey. It is thought that the black is common in the northern areas because it has a higher resistance to cold. Because of their darker color they are able to take in more solar radiation – in other words they stay warmer than the greys. So, they do not need as much food as the greys in order to keep their metabolism ticking over nicely. Furthermore their ancient advantage remains in the denser forests of the north. The darker they are the less easy they are to spot, effectively.
If you want to see a Black Squirrel you would have to travel to Ontario if you are in Canada. Staying the other side of the border, then you would head for Ohio, Wisconsin or Michigan. With less chance of spotting one, you might get lucky in Illinois, Connecticut or even New Jersey as there are small populations to be found there too. If you are elsewhere in the world you may find some, but they are not native to the places and have been introduced there by the hand of man.
Even in Ohio, they were introduced rather than being native to the area. In the early nineteen sixties ten were imported (legally) from Canada. When released they quickly outdid the original Grey Squirrel residents and now predominate. Although they have driven the greys away they do seem to leave other rodent species to their own devices. Some British readers will express satisfaction at the routing of the greys in Ohio – after all, the grey has essentially done for the prettier, smaller red in the United Kingdom so this is a taste of its own medicine, perhaps.
In Illinois you can find the Black Squirrel in Rock Island city. The story foes that they were first introduced on the island of Rock Island Arsenal. Unable to spread far, the water surrounding the island was a natural barrier. However, one cold winter was all that was needed and they were able to hop, skip and jump over the ice covering the frozen Mississippi River.
Michigan has its own legend too. The great early purveyor and all round strange body, Will Keith Kellogg introduced them at Battle Creek as he had a hatred for the local population of Red Squirrels. What they had ever done to him is anyone’s guess.
Kansas even has a population, again with an interesting legend attached. Local historians claim that they escaped from a travelling circus (with Dumbo, perhaps?).
In the United Kingdom, the Grey Squirrel was introduced towards the end of the nineteenth century. The Black Squirrel has, too, made an appearance there but debate rages around why and how. Some research has been done and it has been suggested that the Black Squirrels in the UK escaped from captivity and were not deliberately introduced. In the town of Hitchin the blacks are now as abundant as the greys. The escape trickster of the rodent world had struck again.
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83 Responses to “Meet the Black Squirrel”
On June 11, 2009 at 4:35 am
That’s freaky looking.
On June 11, 2009 at 5:50 am
My father was so delighted to see a black squirrel last year in the Black Forest, Germany.
On June 11, 2009 at 7:37 am
We have black squirrels in our yard in NY. Also greys and reds. They like the walnut and chestnut trees and of course the snacks from the bird feeders! Hubby doesn’t like the reds. They like to get into the attic and chew things up!
On June 11, 2009 at 9:51 am
I had no idea they were as rare as you say they are. In the area I live in, we see them all the time, and of course we also have our fair share of red and grey squirrels too.
On June 11, 2009 at 11:11 am
Interesting to meet the Black squirrel for the first time. In the NW UK we have grey squirrels that come into the garden and there is a nature reseve not far me where the red squirrels are protected.
On June 11, 2009 at 12:27 pm
One of the better articles about the Black Squirrel. We have more Black Squirrels in Kent, Ohio than gray ones. The ten pair that were dropped on the front campus of Kent State now have offspring miles from here. We celebrate the Black Squirrel with stores & business named after them and a yearly festival on campus. Many of the area cars sport Black Squirrel Euro ovals.
On June 11, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Nice reading and interesting information.
On June 11, 2009 at 2:08 pm
Black squirrel robes were very highly valued by the native Indian populations.
On June 11, 2009 at 5:40 pm
I’m from Kansas, and Iknow where to find some black squirrels. In Marysville, KS which is about 20 minutes west of where my family is from, there is a population of the black squirrels and there are even signs posted around town.
On June 11, 2009 at 6:19 pm
Good one . as usual
. Stumbled it and liked it.
On June 11, 2009 at 6:52 pm
Where I live (Toronto, Canada), the majority of the squirrels are black…
On June 11, 2009 at 8:20 pm
We have lots in Lake Grove, NY. A couple spots on Long Island and in Central Park in New York City. I like ‘em!
On June 11, 2009 at 9:45 pm
No big deal where I live in Wilmington DE. Black squirrels have been around my house for the past 20 years. There is one that is at least 5 years old that comes when you whistle a particular tune and will eat out of your hand. He (she?) is getting so old that his coat is slowly turning from jet black to salt and pepper. we have another one we call stumpy since somehow it lost all but about two inches of its tail. Yes it is that bushy tail that makes them look so much better than other rodents.
Young black squirrels do look stunning when you first see one as their coats are all one color not at all like the greys.
On June 11, 2009 at 11:00 pm
I grew up in Council Bluffs, Iowa and they were everywhere.
On June 12, 2009 at 12:08 am
They’re just starting to show up with increasing frequency around the suburbs of Chicago. This was their debut year in our neighborhood at least.
On June 12, 2009 at 7:37 am
There are lots of them in my old neighborhood in Davenport, Iowa. I’d never seen one until I moved there-and I’m from Ohio, where they are supposed to be in abundance! Ah, well-I probably just wasn’t paying attention.
On June 12, 2009 at 8:46 am
they are all over New York City — it is extremely common…
On June 12, 2009 at 9:09 am
Olean NY…the parks are full of Black squirrels has been for 60 yrs!
On June 12, 2009 at 9:11 am
I live in Calgary, Alberta and most of our squirrels are black. People say that years ago some black squirrels escaped from the city zoo (an urban legend, perhaps?).
On June 12, 2009 at 9:19 am
Hello? I am in Kingston Ontario Canada and I could shoot 20 of these everyday in my backyard. In fact it’s rare to see the grey or red ones.
On June 12, 2009 at 9:36 am
the black squirrels are taking over here in Vancouver (Canada). I didn’t realize they were such a novelty until I saw tourists in Stanley Park freaking out and trying to get pictures of them. they seem pretty aggressive and you often see them chasing the grey squirrels.
On June 12, 2009 at 9:37 am
These squirrels are EVERYWHERE in Holland, MI. They aren’t afraid of people, but terrify everyone else. They jump out of dumpsters and run within inches of people. Not a fan.
On June 12, 2009 at 9:44 am
Several years ago, while with a group of Michigan golfers, we were constantly visited by a group of black squirrels during a round at Turtle Creek Golf Course in Rockledge, Florida (near Cocoa). The starter warned us about them, saying that they would get into any open compartment of our bags or the carts looking for something to eat. They were small but very creative in their attempts to steal booty from the golf carts & bags.
On June 12, 2009 at 10:13 am
hmmm… i don’t like the color…
On June 12, 2009 at 10:33 am
in my old neighborhood, there was a “crazy squirrel lady” who had feeders for them all over her yard, and a resulting large squirrel population…more than several times, I saw a BLONDE SQUIRREL there. it wasn’t a white albino, but rather a light cream color. I wonder if it passed on that gene and if they are spreading.
On June 12, 2009 at 10:50 am
Hmmm . . . I’m from Nebraska and black is the only color of squirrel I’ve seen other than brown. Just saw one recently, actually. This article alerted me to the fact that squirrels exist in gray and red, too!
On June 12, 2009 at 11:39 am
There’re black squirrels all over northern Michigan and all over the east and northeast side of Detroit (none on the west side!).
On June 12, 2009 at 11:46 am
We’ve got scads of these on the Fordham campus in the Bronx. They are the cutest.
On June 12, 2009 at 3:01 pm
this video explains a lot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1HHvF2_rNc
On June 12, 2009 at 3:53 pm
They’re all over my street in the Bronx….
On June 12, 2009 at 4:24 pm
I live in St. Paul, MN in a rather urban neighborhod and I’ve noticed the black squirrel population slowly outnumbering the grey squirrel population. In the same two block area, there also seems to be several snow white squirrels as well!
On June 13, 2009 at 2:12 pm
I find this article very strange – I never knew this about black squirrels because they are abundant in the city I live in, but then again, it’s in Ontario. They are so abundant in fact that it is rare to see a grey or red squirrel running about. I remember a few years ago a friend from Beligium visited me here and almost leapt out of his skin when he saw all the squirrels!
On June 13, 2009 at 9:01 pm
We have TONS of black squirrels where I live in Philadelphia, PA. I can say with great confidence that they appear much more street savvy, if not all-together more intelligent than their gray counterparts. In all of my 21 years living here, I have seen but one black squirrel roadway victim….however, gray roadkill is disturbingly abundant.
On June 14, 2009 at 5:19 pm
SMALL?
I remember seeing the black ones in the Toronto area, and wondering who crossed a squirrel with a cat, they were so big.
On June 14, 2009 at 7:09 pm
There used to be lots these black squirrels in Iowa City but they paved over the habitat. Dunno where they went.
On June 14, 2009 at 10:34 pm
i love it
On June 15, 2009 at 8:02 am
Brevard, North Carolina has tons of black squirrels. Also, Bald Head Island, off the coast of NC, has strange black squirrels with white stripes! Bald Head Island doesn’t allow vehicles – you take a ferry there and use either a golf cart or a bicycle.
On June 15, 2009 at 9:54 am
I live in Stuttgart, Germany and have a large yard. There are red and black squirrels in the yard. Just today I saw what I thought was a new creature, and think it might be a black squirrel–but I didn’t see that it had any ears. I was four feet away, as it was in a tree eating at one of our bird feeders. I am certain it had a white stripe starting at its neck on top (I couldn’t see the other side to know if it went all the way to his tail). I am certain it wasn’t a skunk or badger. Has anyone ever heard of a black squirrel (Germany) with a white stripe like that?
JB
On June 15, 2009 at 3:30 pm
I live in Kent, Ohio (home of Kent State University.) We have a large population of black squirrels. Sometimes we’ll see a black one with a gray or brown tail – a little mixing and matching of the colors. Cute as hell.
On June 16, 2009 at 8:14 am
Forsooth! Yonder portrait has been modified, photoshoppically!
On June 16, 2009 at 6:25 pm
I was never aware there were black squirrels as we lived near Toldedo, Ohio. But then we moved over by Coldwater, MI and they are over here and you see alot of them. We have some come to our bird feeder every morning. I also feed them peanuts and they run off and hide them in the ground for future eating. Ours are on the small side and they seem to out number the gray and red squirrels around here. There is also a ban on hunting black squirrel here in MI.
On June 16, 2009 at 10:24 pm
wow, i was never aware of it. The pictures look nice
On June 16, 2009 at 10:28 pm
Just a different colour phase of the Eastern Grey:
http://www.hww.ca/hww2.asp?id=89
On June 17, 2009 at 12:23 am
Oops, mea culpa, missed “the Black Squirrel is in fact what is known as a melanistic subgroup” above.
On June 17, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Interesting… The black squirrel has many mysteries surrounding it.
I have to say though… I live in Virginia. And I have seen a black squirrel before. Seriously. Call it impossible if you want, but hunting in the nearby forests(squirrel hunting no less) I witnessed one scampering across the fallen fall foilage. I would’ve liked to get a shot at him to prove it but alas, as soon as I saw the little bugger, he was gone.
On June 18, 2009 at 3:43 am
For me a black squirrel is normal. Lives in park int the city with red one. Today I saw them both. I´m from Hradec Králové,Czech Republic.
On June 18, 2009 at 3:35 pm
There are black squirrels all OVER the place in Arlington, Virginia…and they’ve been here for at least 20 years. In fact when I was a kid, one of my friends used to call them African American squirrels haha. Once, I even saw an albino squirrel…but no one believed me
wish I could’ve gotten a picture of it!
On June 19, 2009 at 10:46 am
interesting article i have many black sqirels in my back yard. unfortunatly though when i try to feed them the squirels bite me.
they hava also broken eaten through 2 inches of metal in order to east some seeds from a bird feeder.
On June 21, 2009 at 4:05 pm
I live in Omaha and my backyard is home to both black and red squirrels.
On June 23, 2009 at 4:47 am
cool sqirrel
On June 24, 2009 at 2:47 pm
You forgot to mention Indiana. I live approx 20 miles west of South Bend and we have a population here also. My home sits in a large woods and we’ve been enjoying them for years, along with red & greys.
On June 24, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Come to Surrey, BC you’ll see LOTS of black squirrels. They aren’t so very rare here.
On June 26, 2009 at 4:09 pm
The logo of Westfield MA is a black squirrel.
On June 26, 2009 at 9:15 pm
Wow, never seen a black squirrel. Born and reared in Tenn, living in Texas for 30yrs, and I have yet to see a black squirrel, interesting!!
On June 26, 2009 at 11:21 pm
I am actually taking pictures and filming a black squirrel following a grey one around… Are they known to mate together??
On June 27, 2009 at 12:34 am
We have a very small population in the Four Mile Run Park area of Arlington, VA. I saw one the other day with a black body and red tail – very cute. I need to stalk that lady’s bird feeder with my camera one of these days.
On June 27, 2009 at 7:00 am
this squirrel rocks!
black is my favorite color..and it really is interesting:)
On July 2, 2009 at 8:28 pm
Wow! These black squirrels are so cute, although I have not seen one as yet here in Indiana.
On July 6, 2009 at 11:37 pm
I have a few squirrels in our trees – they are brown. No black ones yet…anytime you find something new and cute, some idiot thinks they have to remove it from nature and make it into a pet, but squirrels are very smart animals, they do not like being in cages, they need to be wild, and lets keep it that way. nice link RJ.
On July 12, 2009 at 5:59 pm
Very interesting animal but seems naughty. Thanks for sharing.
On July 17, 2009 at 10:04 pm
Calgary, Alberta, Canada – We live downtown in a green area by the river and seem to have adopted a family of 4 black squirrels that visit us regularly on our 2nd floor balcony. Mama is pure black like the one in the headshot, the 3 kids have a bit of grey/brown but are still black. We put the nuts in a glass jar and loosely put the lid on top so when the jar is toppled, the lid falls away and the nuts spill out. Mama figured out the trick first, now all 3 kids do it too. Thanks for the link, we learned a lot.
On August 6, 2009 at 6:57 pm
black squirrels are also somewhat common in northern and central pennsylvania and i have been lucky enough to bag a few this past year only 10 miles from the new york border in mckean county
On August 9, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Hi, I live in British Columbia, Canada. I feed at least 10 different squireels here int eh park and there is only 1 grey squirrel.
On August 15, 2009 at 10:04 am
I feed the squirrels that visit our yard in Bartonville, IL, near Peoria. I have counted as many as 12 black squirrels at one time in our yard and on our deck. Another place we have seen them is Cadillac, MI. A friend visiting us from Quad-Cities (Moline/Davenport/Rock Island/Bettendorf) told us they have a lot of them there. We see three colors of squirrels here–red/brown, gray, and black–but there are more black ones than the others.
On September 3, 2009 at 8:02 am
We have a black squirrel that lives around our hotel in Minnesota. People are just amazed by him!
On September 6, 2009 at 4:00 pm
I was delighted to see a Black Squirrel taking in seeds from my yard the other day , I live on Vancouver Island in BC, Canada. So they are not just in Vancouver and Toronto after all.
On September 7, 2009 at 1:57 pm
I live in South Georgia and was freaked out when I saw a black squirrel in a tree in my front yard.
On September 13, 2009 at 1:03 pm
I just saw a black squirrel in our back yard eating the bird seed that usually gets kicked onto the ground. We live in Reno, NV. He’s hanging out and having a good time. Growing up in Calif. I have never heard of one before, but, my husband grew up in PA and is very familiar with them. We took lots of pictures.
On September 15, 2009 at 7:55 pm
The Grey and Black squirrels are a non-native species introduced in BC more than 25 years ago in Stanley Park (Downtown Vancouver). They are a nuisance species that are driving out the native brown and red species and should not be encouraged (read – eradicate). Fortunately in my area, my cat has developed a taste for them and is starting to cull the population.
On September 26, 2009 at 5:56 pm
Just saw my first one in the mountains of Washington State.
On September 28, 2009 at 4:55 pm
I live in Centereach, long Island, N.Y. and been feeding the Grey Squirrels for years that live in my front yard tree but in August of 09′ I seen a Black one on my front lawn. In my disbelief I called to it as I do to my Grey ones and them knowing peanuts will follow. The black squirrel paused then I tossed the peanuts. A couple of days passed and seeing the black one hanging around and came up to my deck I thought how friendly. On the 3rd day she brought over a baby black one and up the tree she went with it. The black one took over the tree and chased the grey one away and now she and baby found a food source and a place to live. I recently seen a baby grey of hers pop out of the hole but back in it went. I guess she has a grey and a black one too young to come out yet but how exciting to see the black one and know that the generations will hopefully continue right here in my tree. She is very cute and soft looking and soon I will teach her as the others how to take the peanuts from my hand.
On September 28, 2009 at 5:06 pm
Hi, it’s me again from Centereach, N.Y. again giving you an update about the new resident in my tree the black squirrel. I couldn’t figure out what she had in her mouth giving her a bit of a time and me thinking “oh my, I sure hope she’s not choking” but after about 7-8 mins. she came down my cherry tree across the lawn and started up the oak where her babies are and I was able to see what was in her mouth. It was a baby mouse to my surprise! I didn’t know squirrels eat meat like that and then I realized I guess she has to bring the babies the protein needed for growth…I guess. Well I thought I would share that since I had to Google the question about their diets and YES they do.
On October 3, 2009 at 9:32 pm
I live in New Hampshire and we just saw one yesterday…neither my husband or I had ever heard of them, never mind seen one! We have now!!! Interesting!!
On October 7, 2009 at 10:44 am
i live in nc so i only get the grey ones
On October 10, 2009 at 4:11 pm
Live in Pittsburgh PA suburb. Saw my first ever black squirrel yesterday and my husband saw one a week ago. We have lots of grey and red squirrels here. Appreciate info on this site!
On October 10, 2009 at 7:37 pm
I have to say, there is an abundance of these in the San Francisco Bay area as well…I don\’t see any mention of the West at all in these articles. Very interesting.
On October 18, 2009 at 2:53 pm
My wife and I regularly holiday in Lenzkirch in the Black Forest, Germany. Out of our living room window we watch the antics of a family of jet black squirrels. they are not as friendly as red or grey and appear to be very wary of humans to sutch an extent that even if we put food out for them they don’t take it. This may be due to the fact that they are well fed.
On October 20, 2009 at 8:49 pm
I have one here (Black Squirrel) in southern Ulster County, NY. Hudson Valley/Catskill Mountain Region. First I have ever seen in more than 30 years of living here.
On October 22, 2009 at 9:16 am
Come to St.Thomas Ontario! Millions of the little buggers and they get into everything……….Errrrr, but they are cute!
On October 25, 2009 at 11:11 am
In Upland, Indiana, 60 miles NE of Indianapolis, the black squirrels are about all we ever see. It would not be unusual to see a dozen or more at once in my yard. The strangest sights are the new litters. Many babies are jet black while some are odd combinations of black, grey, and brown. Sometimes they have strange combinations of fur length giving some the appearance of ‘Punk’ squirrels with.
On October 25, 2009 at 9:25 pm
My brother lives in Wisconsin and we have watched two blacks playing in his back yard, all morning.
On October 25, 2009 at 9:52 pm
Today my family and I were out for a nice Sunday drive
when we spotted a squirrel running across the road- a very common sight these days – then my husband and u turned and looked at each other and said – that squirrel was all black! I lived
in this area all my life and my family,we are all avid outdoorsman. This is the first time I have seen a black squirrel I live in upstate NY an hour north of Albany.
On November 1, 2009 at 5:10 pm
In Saint Paul, MN I’ve only seen grey squirrels all my life. Then ten years ago I saw a black one about 8 blocks from my home. (it was very exciting.) Now they seem to be everywhere – got two in my yard right now. They are beautiful but they are taking over! I am curious why they seem to be more prolific than the greys? Also, is the gene that makes them black dominant? or is it related to the albinism? becuase we sure have a lot of whilte squirrles, too (not as many as grey or black but they certainly aren’t rare).
I would’ve thought the whilte’s might have an advantage in the winter by blending in to the snow avoiding pursuing hawks. Guess not…
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