Black Squirrel

Black Squirrels in New Brunswick

Black Squirrel

 The Eastern Gray Squirrel is the largest common squirrel in eastern Canada.  The Black Squirrel is a melanistic form of this species.  We are all familiar with the commonly seen Eastern Gray Squirrel which inhabits cities, towns and parkland as well as woodlots.  While on a birding trip to Saints Rest Marsh recently we found the Black Squirrel shown above in the trees on Taylor Island.  This was shocking to me because I have never seen a Black Squirrel before in New Brunswick and I have spent a lot of time in natural areas of this province!  An inquiry to our birding and nature-loving friends revealed that many have seen Black Squirrels in New Brunswick.

Black Squirrel

The Eastern Gray Squirrel is found in eastern North America from Florida and the Gulf of Mexico north to the Great Lakes region of Ontario and westward to southern Manitoba and eastward to southern Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.  From my inquiry to local naturalists I have found that most black morphs have been seen in the Saint John area especially in West Saint John (Irving Nature Park) and also in Millidgeville.  One person actually saw 3 at Irving Nature Park last year.  There have been a few reports from Fredericton from as much as 30 years ago but as stated earlier I have never seen one in the Fredericton area and I have lived here all my life and spent a lot of time in the woods.  The same is reported from another active Fredericton birder.  A wildlife rehabilitation expert for the Maritimes has never received a black morph in 23 years of practice.  It is interesting in how few there are here where in some areas (Ontario, New York State, Ohio) the black morphs are the dominant forms.  

Black Squirrel

The Eastern Gray Squirrel has a soft, dense pelage formed from an undercoat and overlying guard hairs.  The typical colour is grizzled gray on the body and a white-tipped, black-banded grey-brown tail.  The face, feet and flanks usually show a mix of browns.  The underparts are white.  The black (melanistic) morph occurs about 1 in 10,000 individuals.  There is also a much rarer red (erythristic) morph.  Occasionally there occurs a mixture of morphs showing black squirrels with red tails.  Albinos also occur.  Being a genetic aberration it is possible for there to be one black morph in a litter of grays.

The individual we saw, as shown above, is an adult black morph being all black with the characteristic small amount of brown showing on the face.  There was no white belly nor white tip on the tail. 

Black Squirrel

The largest populations of Black Squirrels occur in Ontario and Ohio, USA.  In some places they are very popular and have been made mascots for universities and sports teams. The occurrence of the black morph of the Eastern Gray Squirrel is more common in the northernmost parts of its range.  That is an intriguing fact for biologists.  It may be due to natural selection because the black morph can stand cold weather better than the gray.  The black colour absorbs more heat from the sun so the black individuals survive better.   The black colour may also be better for camouflage and thus protection from predators.  

The Black Squirrel has had an interesting history.  We are responsible for the Black Squirrels in Washington, D.C.  In 1902 and again in 1906 a number of Black Squirrels were sent from Ontario to the Smithsonian.  Those individuals are responsible for the Black Squirrel population of Washington!  Gray Squirrels were also sent to England in the 1800s and developed into a pest species there.  There are black morphs among them, too.  Black morphs also occur in the Fox Squirrel and the Red Squirrel.