Black Squirrels

[Tim Ault]

Whens the last time anyone has seen a black squirrel? last time for me was maybe 15 yrs ago up near Siegel, Jefferson Co. I remember the stories my Pap use to tell me during the lean years during and after the depression he and his brothers would go up on ridges around Derry and Mill Run and hunt them and bring them back and sell them ,said he used to get an extra dime or so for the black squirrels said there was as many black as fox ,I havent hunted up on the ridge for ages but I never did see any blackies up there either .

[B92G]

Saw one sunday. I see them all the time. Didnt know they were that elusive. Go to knoebels they run around all over the place, for some reason they love the mini golf area.

[noslolo]

They are all over the place next to my job, but that is in Annapolis Maryland. I live in Johnstown.

[Hawk]

I saw my very first one about 12 years ago (eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh). We have a street full of Pin Oaks and the squirrels love them. I've been seeing a few more black ones in other (local) area's since then.

From Wikipedia:

"As a melanistic variety of the Eastern Grey Squirrel, individual black squirrels can exist wherever grey squirrels live. Grey mating pairs can not produce black offspring. Grey squirrels have 2 copies of a normal pigment gene and black squirrels have either 1 or 2 copies of a mutant pigment gene. If a black squirrel has 2 copies of the mutant gene it will be jet black. If it has 1 copy of a mutant gene and 1 normal gene it will be brown-black (McRobie et al., 2009). In areas with high concentrations of black squirrels, mixed litters are common.[1] The black subgroup seems to have been dominant throughout North America prior to the arrival of Europeans in the 16th century, since their dark colour helped them hide in virgin forests which tended to be very dense and shaded. As time passed, hunting and deforestation led to biological advantages for grey coloured individuals.[2] Today, the black subgroup is particularly abundant in the northern part of the Eastern Grey Squirrel's range.[3][4] This is likely due to the significantly increased cold tolerance of black squirrels which lose less heat than greys.[5] Black squirrels also enjoy concealment advantages in denser northern forests.[1]"

[pacpiper]

Saw a couple when the family and I went to Knoebel's a few weeks ago.

Had to do a double take.

[soup]

I've seen two in the last month at two very different locations. Before that the last time was years ago

[bogey1]

I saw one dead in broomall last week. I should of picked it up and had it mounted. Beautiful little critter. I had a couple out back but they have since moved on.

[ar15jules]

I saw one deer hunting years ago in Warren County. I hunted that little bugger for the entire late season. I get to see him everyday now, as he is on my wall. There are surely areas where they are plentiful. Anyone who has ever spent any time on the campus of Penn State can atest to that. They are EVERYWHERE there. If I can, I will get a photo up.
Jules

[Hornet]

Haverford college outside of Philly on the main line has so many that the athletic teams nickname is the black squirrels. I work on the opposite side of Montgomery avenue and we used to not see them on our campus but I saw a few over the summer that made it across the street.

[Lost Hunter]

I saw one just last month while camping at Little Buffalo State park. It caught both me and the wife's attention while hiking. Sure is neat to spot something you don't normally see.