Black squirrel
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Black squirrels are a melanistic phase of the Eastern Grey Squirrel. They are common in northeastern North America and, in some places, outnumber the grey squirrels by a ratio of about ten to one.
Habitat
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North America
Black squirrels naturally occur in Southern Ontario and Southern Quebec, and most other populations in North America have been artificially introduced from stock obtained from these areas. They have significant population as far as Western Massachusetts on the campuses of Westfield State College the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Additionally, they can be seen on the Merion Campus of the Episcopal Academy just outside of Philadelphia, and one was spotted at Wesleyan College in Connecticut in June of 2007.
Marysville, Kansas is known as "Black Squirrel City." Council Bluffs, Iowa is also known for an abundance of the squirrel. Black Squirrels are widespread throughout much of southern Michigan, including the Detroit Metro area, particularly in Royal Oak, Michigan, in the area surrounding the Detroit Zoo. The Cincinnati suburb of Glendale, Ohio has a population of black squirrels that descend from an original pair imported from Michigan in the 1890's. The Haverford College mascot is, in fact, a black squirrel. They are also on the campus at Howard University, University Nebraska Lincoln (UNL), Stanford University, Santa Clara University, Syracuse University, St. Bonaventure University, Michigan State University, Chatham College, The George Washington University, American University, Augustana College (Illinois), Goshen College as well as the University of Maryland, though grey squirrels outnumber black ones. Black squirrels were introduced to the Stanley Park Peninsula in Vancouver, BC prior to 1914 and have since spread throughout Vancouver, the North Shore and into the Fraser Valley area surrounding the city. It also seems that these squirrels have made their way from Vancouver into Washington State (specifically, Whatcom County).
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Photo of Washington State Black Squirrel
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Black squirrel in Princeton, New Jersey
Black squirrels have been seen in 2007 on Mackiniac Island in Michigan.
The campus of Kent State University in Ohio has a large population of black squirrels. The squirrels were not native to the area; ten rare black squirrels were imported from Canada in February 1961 by Larry Woodell, superintendent of grounds, and M. W. Staples, a retired executive of the Davey Tree Expert Company. When first released, the large, black-spiked squirrels were frequently mistaken for skunks. Today they own the campus. The Black Squirrel Festival started in 1981 as a day-long event held on the Student Center Plaza to introduce new students to campus and community organizations. Now it features barbecues, live bands, and local artisans. The black squirrel has become an unofficial symbol of Kent State University and the city of Kent, Ohio. Mount Union College, about an hour away from Kent State, is also home to a large population of black squirrels.
They are common in and around the Bronx Zoo and nearby Fordham University in New York City, and have been seen in Central Park, Manhattan and Peter Cooper Village, Manhattan in abundance. Recently they have been spotted in Maspeth (Queens) New York in a residential area. Two of them reside in Mineola on Long Island. A family of black squirrels have been seen as far south as Douglasville, Georgia (a suburb of Atlanta). Black squirrels were introduced to the National Zoo in Washington, DC in 1902. Since that time they have spread into surrounding areas of Maryland and Virginia. They have most recently been sighted in the Northwestern suburbs of Chicago,Illinois.
Europe
In England, they are found around the town of Letchworth Garden City in Hertfordshire; Totternhoe, Arlesey and Stotfold in Bedfordshire; Cambridge and the nearby villages of Girton, Impington, Histon, Madingley and Oakington, and also in the nearby town of Stevenage. The squirrel is starting to become more visible in the Chiltern Hills area of Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire[1].
Russia
There are also black squirrels in eastern Russia, it was recently reported that they managed to capture and eat a wild dog. It is thought they were driven to this act because of a severe shortage of food. They managed to nibble the dog to death[2]. Black Squirrels originate from the Black Forests of Germany and Russia. They migrated with immigrants to North America.
