The White Squirrels of Shelton
The Damned Story: Often heard at my home in Shelton from first-time visitors: “Oooh look! A white squirrel right in your backyard!”
My response: “Yay. They’re still rats.”
Okay, I should be more excited to have something that’s considered “damned” living a few feet from my house — when I first moved to Shelton, I remember the first time I saw one of these so-called “ghost squirrels” run across the street, I almost drove off the road. But now, after these critters spend the day tearing up my lawn, chewing on my kids’ toys (wiffle balls, in particular, seem to be a favorite) and leaving a plethora of picked-clean pine cones in their wake, it’s hard to appreciate them for the “special” vermin they are.
Well, from what I can tell, they’re not so special. They’re a variation of the common Eastern gray squirrel, with populations in Missouri, Kentucky, Ohio, upstate New York and even in North Carolina, where in the town of Brevard, they have have an annual white squirrel festival.
I’m not buying a ticket any time soon . . .
These creatures have been spotted in various sections of Shelton, and more recently, have spread (not unlike a plague) into Stratford. As you might expect (hope), they don’t have overly large populations because their bright fur makes them an easy target for hawks and other raptors.
A quick note: The squirrels spotted in my backyard and in other places in Shelton are not albino — it’s hard to tell from these pictures, but they have black eyes, not the red eyes characteristic of albinism.
Our Damned Experience: These photos were taken in my backyard and I can pretty much go outside on any given day and snap pictures of these annoying buggers. This particular squirrel I photographed is about a year or two old, and lives with a pack of gray ones high up in a pine tree. Over the past ten years that I’ve lived here, there always seems to be one or two white ones around, mixed in and living in racial harmony with their gray brethren.
If You Go: You’re not coming to my house, damned or not!
However, I can’t stop you from cruising the Coram Road section of Shelton and taking a few of specimens home with you (please please please!), or even better, if one crosses the road in front of you, preparing it for early taxidermy with your car.
Ohhh Ray, I didn’t actually get around to reading this one till now. I’m cracking up!!!!
The only good squirrel is a dead squirrel!!!!
Wishing you and yours a 4 dead squirrel year!
We used to have 2 white squirrelss in my neighborhood in waterbury about 5 years ag.
the squirrels in waterbury are black. i was shocked.
This is awesome! When I was a child we had two white squirrels that lived in my street in Connecticut. And they clearly didn’t have read eyes. I’ll never forget sharing it to my class in 2nd grade, and my teacher thought I was nuts. She even brought it up to my mom when she came to pick me up. My mom just looked at her and said “Yeah, they’ve been there for years.”
Unfortunately it’s been years and they’re long gone. Haven’t seen them since the late 80′s.
[...] were alleged to be roaming the state and cats were beheaded in Bridgeport. And yes, I still have white squirrels in my back [...]
I live a few blocks from Shelton City Hall and I see lots of black squirrels and white squirrels. The first time I noticed a white one was in that old grave yard on Long Hill Ave just before the Route 8 overpass. It spooked me, for a second I thought it was the ghost of Bullwinkle’s little buddy.
I too live on Coram Road and see them on my deck all the time. I have been here 11 years now and we seem to get new white squirrels every year or so. There was a very big white male 4-5 years ago with a very distinctive Roman nose but I have not seen him in a while.
i have seen then at rockwell park bristol ct and off e albert st torrington ct
In West Hartford there are some black squirrels tipped with silver. Very pretty.
i lived on toas st. in the coram rd section and they were all over the place. If you go where all the Rhode Island streets and drive around you’ll see one every now and then.
[...] Squirrels Seen in Stratford By Ray Bendici | Category: Weird News As someone who has these pests in their very own backyard, Stratford has my [...]
You’re correct that the white squirrels are not albinos – rather, they have a different genetic condition known as leucism (pronounced “luke-ism”). Leucistic animals display a reduction/absence of all pigments, not just melanin (black), with the usual exception of the pigment cells in the eyes – leading to a white animal with dark eyes, much like this squirrel.
Opposignly, there is a phenotype (gene expression) that involves an increase in dark pigments, known as melanism. This causes a darker-colored/black variant of the animal, such as the black squirrel that lives in my yard (in Easton, CT).
I have never seen a white squirrel, only grey ones. One of them used to come in my bedroom window and sit on my bedside table staring at me until I got up and fed her. One used to come over and take peanuts out of my hand. Squirrels are quite friendly if you are nice to them and talk to them in a calm and friendly tone of voice.
So if the white ones are friendly, just be nice to them and feed them.
About 5 years back in farmington i saw a jet black squirrel off of Meadow road near Tunxis Meade.
This was funny-I live in Bridgeport and we have had a bunch of albino squirrels over the past 20 years. We learned not to tell anyone because otherwise losers with cameras start showing up
We used to have a few of them in the North end of Stratford in the late 70′s.
I saw a squirrel with a blue tail once.. My guess is that someone painted it that color. Either that or it was one awesome squirrel
Had them on Park St. in Shelton in the 50′s and 60′s!
I saw a white squirrel in Shelton once, just once (but then I don’t go there very often) I’ve seen black ones in Washington Square Park and Tompkins Square Park in NYC.
I have the mostly gray variety, with some red/orange thrown in.
Love squirrels, my yard is a wildlife habitat and I’ve assisted a rehabber friend of mine in the past and would like to do more.
And all you squirrel haters- go to Australia, will you?
Grew up in Stratford, and at Long Brooke Park there was a Black squirrel I remember seeing anywhere between the park and the Police station, a few years later it would show up with a white one much like you described. However I didn’t realize how they were uncommon till recently
Also while attending Stratford Academy I remember seeing a squirrel that appeared to have grey fur and a light orange tail.
Whether it was natural or not I cannot say.
There is a small colony of white squirrels at Lafayette School. I used to see them there all the time. To be more precise, I believe they are living in or around that old white garage in the parking lot next to the building. They have also spread to Booth Hill park in stratford, or maybe its the other way around, I’m not sure.
My daughter saw a jet black squirrel off Reidville drive in Waterbury just the other day. I set 2 havahart traps 2 days straight. I caught 2 grey squirrels the first day and a possum the second day. I am interested in relocating some black and white squirrels to my home in Watertown. My backyard is a sanctuary to everything! If anyone would allow me to set live traps on their property, I would be more than happy to rid them of a few suirrels!
Bill, what you are suggesting (relocating) is actually CRUEL to squirrels – not to mention illegal!- and almost guarantees they WON’T survive long enough to enjoy the supposed riches of your yard. Squirrels have home ranges and will drive off any interlopers, which will lead to the new ones starving, getting hit by cars, eaten by prey, etc. LEAVE THE SQUIRRELS IN OTHER AREAS ALONE! I’m sure that you will have squirrels in your own area eating out of your hand if you have patience.
Actually the black squirrels that are common around the Washington park/Sylvan area of Waterbury are the product of relocation from Vermont. A wiman who used to live on Sylvan avenue had trapped a couple when in Vermont and released them in Waterbury. That had to be a good 30 years ago from what I remember. These are melanistic. Melanistic animals tend to be more common the farther north you go and that includes snakes. It’s natures way of absorbing warmth. Melanism is a co-dominate gene, meaning if a melanistic animal were to breed with a “normal” looking grey squirrel, some of the offspring would be melanistic and some would be normal. The normal looking ones would not have the gene nor be able to pass it on. That differs with the Leucistic squirrels of Shelton and albino squirrels. The leucistic and albino squirrels carry a recessive gene. In order to produce leucistic or albino offpring, both animals would need to carry the recessive gene. Albino to albino would or leucistic to leucistis wouls produce all albino or leucistic animals. An albino or leucistic to a normal colored animal would produce normal looking offspring although about 66% or the normal looking animals would carry the recessive gene. If two normal looking animals carrying the gene were to breed, a certail percentage off offspring would be albino or leucistic. With that said, All black or melanistic animals are more common than leucistic or albinos.
On 1/11/2012 I set a trap where my daughter kept seein a jet black squirrel. Keep in mind that this was a very bust area of Waterbury next to busy roads and an interstate. All sightings were in the road! I went back to check the trap and much to my surprise I had not one, but a pair of jet black squirrels! They were immediately released into my yard and seem to be thriving here. Keep in mind that I live adjacent to a far on 2 dead end streets. I feed everything! I go through 80lbs of high end seed, 7 suet cakes, blue seal crunchies and 5lbs of peanuts a week! I have a small pond with waterfall also that is the center of attraction on those hot summer days. My backyard is basically a nature preserve! Even the racoons are welcome and visit nightly. Hopefully this will be the start of a black squirrel colony here in Watertown.
Bill, as I said previously, it’s usually NOT a good idea to relocate them because they do best in their home habitat and if moved, those native to the new area may chase them out and they won’t have a good source. BUT….in this case it sounds like they would have ended up as road kill if left where they were and it sounds like you’re making sure everyone gets fed. Do they have enough shelter/nesting places? Maybe you could slap together some nesting boxes.
I surely beleive that they would have been road kill. I saw a dead black squirrel getting off the exit there at Harper’s ferry road. This was reidville Drive /route 84. I do have a few Larger boxes up now but plan on building a few more. I am looking for a place I can buy some cedar and have already downloaded squirrel house plans from the Audobaun. I understood your concerns but I beleive I did the right thing. They have plenty of area here and seem to be fitting in with the rest of the squirrels here. I will keep everyone updated and hopefully add some pictures. Since this is a co-dominant trait, it shouldn’t take long to see the progress.
It’s funny reading about white squirrels, but also seeing all the comments of people amazed about black ones! I live in Westfield, Massachusetts, and there’s black squirrels running all OVER the place up here. Our ‘mascot’ is even a black squirrel. Not so rare as you all may think. Come visit some time! Hang out in Stanley Park, in Westfield, Ma. You’ll see TONS of black squirrels.