" Black Squirrels."

I never knew until today that there were black squirrels ,talk about "live & learn "

Some info in the following link if anyones interested .............................................

Forest Research - Black squirrels

 

Yes, Gogs black squirrels do exhist. In fact, many many years ago Kent State University found in Ohio traveled to Canada to get some pairs, relocated them to the campus. When I went there, around 1975 they had been there for several years and were abounding happily around the campus.

 

I hear they are still doing fine on the campus of Kent State University. They look like black velvet to me, with a little shine.

 

We have tons of them here....in fact they are usually the ones that dig up my seedlings in the spring time!!

 

Saw some when I was working on a Stately Home in Bedfordshire.

 

I've seen black and white squirrels in Italy. Apparently they are rogue squirrels and are not native to Italy. They were quite cute though.

 

I remember seeing Black Squirrels in my Aunt's garden in Belleville east of Toronto back in the 70's.
I did read somewhere about some Black ones here, could have been Bedfordshire.

 

Here you are Gogs. My daughter took this in May of last year, near Vancouver, Canada, where she now lives.

 

I've seen Albino and Black squirrels on Spring/Autumn watch in the past and I'm sure they had a report once on a small population of Black (Melanistic) Squirrels on a small island off our southern coast somewhere??, they were breeding succsessfully and were exclusively black squirrels as there were no grey's present...

melanistic squirrel - Google Search

 

I've seen one in Dorset, between Ferndown and Wimborne (but I suppose it might have been a baby puma).

 

Bilbo, the only Squirrels I know on an island off the South Coast are the thriving colony of reds on Brownsea Island but I might have missed something.

 

I'm not aware of any down here either Strongy, did find this though,

Is that anything to do with Billy Jo McAllister?

 

There are black un's in the UK , got the following from that website ............
It is believed Black squirrels were originally introduced to Woburn Park (Bedfordshire) from North America at the end of the 19th Century and having escaped or through release, have spread mainly East and North-East.
Black squirrels are commonly sighted in Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire (see map and lists below). The first recorded sighting of a black squirrel was in 1912 on the outskirts of Letchworth. The numbers of Black squirrels in the UK is unknown.