I was so shocked yesterday morning at Prince William Forest Park to spot a bright white squirrel that my brain froze for a moment—it simply could not process the information transmitted by my eyes. We have black squirrels in the Washington DC area, but I never realized that an Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) could be white.
My first thought was that it might be an albino squirrel, but when I zoomed in, I could see that its eyes are dark. I did a little poking about on the internet and learned that there are white morphs of the gray squirrel that have a rare gene that causes them to be white.
In response to a photo I posted on Facebook, Sue, a retired biology professor who authors the wonderful Backyard Biology blog, reminded me of a post she had written in 2013 entitled “A white shade of tail” that includes a lot of great information on white squirrels. Who knew, for example, that there are locations in the United States where white squirrels are relatively common? Be sure to check out that posting and other awesome postings on Sue’s site, where she freely shares her accumulated knowledge, current observations, and beautiful images. (She is special to me too because she was one of the first subscribers to this blog almost seven years ago.)
I suspected that the white squirrel would be skittish, so I took a series of shots from a distance. As I anticipated, when I took a step forward, the squirrel scampered away.
At first glance, I thought all my photos were the same, but when I looked more closely, I saw that they captured different facial expressions. I try to look at my subjects as individuals and not merely as representatives of their species. The cute little expressions in these images remind me of the individual personality of this unusual little creature.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Hi Mike — great shots of this white squirrel. We saw many of them on a trip to Brevard, NC a few years ago. Brevard is one of those towns known for white squirrels, and has made a cottage industry of sorts with gift shops and photos of the local squirrels at various locations
Fun!
Carol
Thanks, Carol. Brevard came up multiple times when I did a Google search for white squirrels. It sounds like a fun place to visit.
This is a positively fantastic experience for you and for your fortunate followers too! Benjamin has been an avid backyard squirrel watcher from his perch in my kitchen sink that provides a window view since his first year of age. We have seen many of the Eastern Gray ones, but never have we been blessed to see a white one. He will be delighted when he sees this post tomorrow. We will also visit Sue at Backyard Biology. Thank-you, Mr. Mike!!
Wow! Love it! We have several kinds of squirrels frequent our “bird” feeders, but never this!!
I am astonished. And educated. Thank you.
How cute, I had no idea they existed.
I love these photos, Mike. I’ve only ever seen a white squirrel once.
Reblogged this on Becoming is Superior to Being and commented:
What a joy it must have been to photograph this white squirrel. Thanks for sharing.
Mike, thanks for the reference in your blog post. That was very kind of you, and I didn’t know I was one of your first subscribers, but am still enjoying your photography journey immensely!
Thanks, Sue. I am not sure how to tell when you subscribed to my blog,but you made a comment on July 13, 2012 to my very first posting (july 7, 2012) and your blog was the fifth one to which I subscribed. 🙂
Great photos as always and what a beautiful squirrel! I’ve recently become aware of black squirrels seen in the northeast US. I lived in the DC area for my first 18 years and only saw gray squirrels. It would be interesting to know if there are migrations going on. I recently saw a pic of a black squirrel taken somewhere in the southeast US where I live, although again, I’ve only ever seen the gray ones. The grays are pretty but I’d love to see the white ones and black ones as well.
I’ll have to photograph some black ones for you–I see them reasonably regularly.
What awesome shots! I never had seen a white squirrel before either! Thanks so much for sharing it. I saw a white porcupine before and that was something, but I believe this squirrel is cuter. 🙂
I saw a blonde squirrel last year and I didn’t even know there was such an animal.
Nice shots!
I was SO surprised to see your white squirrel.. wow!
That must have been exciting to see, Mike. I’ve heard about a town in the midwest that has become a tourist attraction for its white squirrels, and monitors and discourages all others from coming in to dilute the gene pool. Bad to be gray in that town!
I saw some of these in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. I wasn’t able to get a photo of a pure white one, but I do have photos of a mottled one with a pure white tail. That was pretty darned awesome, too. Lucky you, to have had the chance for these shots!
It turns out that there are more white and mottled squirrels than I realized, but it is such a cool experience nonetheless to have seen one, especially in a woodland environment.
Wow!
I saw black ones in Canada and we have them in a neighborhood called Glendale. NEVER saw a a white one before!!
I am not sure that I will ever see a white one again, but it sure was special having it happen once.
I would have had the same reaction as you did Mike. A white squirrel, not an albino, how amazing!