Just a few photos of our pesky squirrels currently defeating my bird feeder. They should enjoy it while they can, as I'm going out to wire shut the cage as soon as I'm done here! We have two colors of squirrels around here.
Black or grey those little devils can chew through almost anything. They do look cute in your photographs but under that fluffy exterior lies a heart of pure destruction.
I've never seen a black squirrel before either. Those are really good pictures of them. I love to watch squirrels...in someone else's yard but not in mine. They are destructive little rodents, but cute!
The last time I saw a black squirrel was over 25 years ago in Canada. They really look pretty in black but as the others said, they can be quite destructive. Over the past week I got all my planters ready outdoors and fluffed the soil and topped them off with new soil. Almost every one of those planters have been dug in by squirrels already.
We have lots of black squirrels where I work and they are just as destructive as the grey ones! Thankfully the resident fox keeps their numbers in check.
It looks like I am the only squirrel lover here...I learn to get along with them. They like to bury food for a later date in your planters...not the smartest critters when it comes to hiding things. Some of mine hide peanuts under a leave and the dogs appreciate the treat because as soon as the wind comes up, they are exposed. They are really smart when it comes to getting onto tray feeders or hanging ones. I let them eat off of the tray feeder and they don't bother my hanging ones. There is usually plenty on the ground for them to snack on too. I used to have a black one, not sure what happened to it...most likely poisoned or shot by someone. People leave their garage doors open and they expect the squirrels and chipmunks to stay out, which they don't and they are also letting in the voles and mice.
I love seeing those black squirrels. They have them in New London, Wis and when I was a kid we would go camping at Bear Lake and they had black squirrels there also. We only have the Fox, Grey, and Red squirrels here.
They say they are the same species. I had a black one around for a time and thought it would add to my web site but found out it is the same species as the brown ones we have many of. This is from eNature. The Eastern Gray Squirrel, a fairly small squirrel that occurs naturally throughout the eastern US and southeastern Canada and has been introduced into many western cities, is often black in northern parts of its range. In fact, in Canada it is often called the Black Squirrel. Black and gray individuals are often seen together, which makes some people think they're different species.
Tooty2shoes....we lived in New London for 10 years, right off of Highway 54. In our front yard we had a beautiful sight of the Nature preserve on Highway S. We had over 12 squirrels that visited us and they were so much fun to watch on our 3 acres. I loved the area for nature, all except for all of the Pine and garter snakes we had from the swamps. We had a black squirrel that visited all of the time, it could of been 2 or more of them. The squirrels would hang by their front feet and cross the wire to get to the feeders. Plus we had flying squirrels that we could get close to at night. I miss that area for all of the birds we had too...we have been here about 10 years now. Kildale...when we had the black squirrels (at the two last homes we have lived at) none of the other squirrels liked them. They would always get chased away by the other ones, just like the little red ones would get chased away.
According to all the info about black squirrels they have the same scientific name as the brown or gray. Here is another note from Google. Black squirrels are not a separate species at all, but a melanistic morpheme, ... black squirrels are actually morphs of the gray squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis.
When smothered down in an onion gravy in the ole black iron pot black and grey squirrels taste the same. The big red fox squirrels however are tougher and require more cooking. Thats why we do not have trouble with them too.