Squirrels of White

C. Claiborne Ray's December 29, 2009 "Q&A" feature in the New York Times Science section was where I learned that "significant sightings of white or albino squirrels have been reported in many areas of North America. A mapping project lists them in Charlotte and Brevard, North Carolina; Kenton, Tennessee; Marionville, Missouri; the Northern Keys of Florida; Olney, Illinois; and Exeter, Ontario [featured in the video up top]."

Here's her piece.

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Squirrels of White

Q. There are an incredible number of white squirrels living here in Pensacola, Fla., on the Gulf Coast. Are they albinos? How would it be genetically possible to have so many in one community?

A. Significant sightings of white or albino squirrels have been reported in many areas of North America. A mapping project lists them in Charlotte, N.C.; Kenton, Tenn.; Marionville, Mo.; the Northern Keys of Florida; Olney, Ill.; Exeter, Ontario; and Brevard, N.C., where the White Squirrel Research Institute has been established to study and publicize the local population of white examples of the Eastern gray squirrel, or Sciurus carolinensi.

Only a few white squirrels are albinos, recognizable by pink or blue eyes and the absence of pigmentation anywhere on the body. The gene for such an absence of the pigment, melanin, is recessive, so each parent must carry it to produce an albino squirrel. Albino squirrels have vision problems and are at a disadvantage in the wild.

Most so-called white squirrels in North America are genetic color variants of the gray species, not unlike the fairly common black squirrel. They breed normally and may have gray siblings. It is thought that the genes that normally produce a white underbelly in the gray squirrel are active in a wider area of their bodies, often leaving discernible gray patches on the spine and head. It is also theorized that the white coloration may even provide some kind of survival advantage in the colonies where they do thrive.

Widely separated white squirrel colonies are often traced to well-documented pet white squirrels that escaped into the wild.

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More?

No problema: try Roadside America's White Squirrel Wars.