Black squirrel
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Black squirrels are a melanistic phase of the Eastern Grey Squirrel. They are common in Midwestern North America and, in some places, outnumber the grey squirrels by a ratio of about ten to one.[citation needed]
In the Great Lakes region the smaller black squirrel appears dominant in certain areas over the larger Fox Squirrel such as in Kent, Ohio.[citation needed] In Toronto, Ontario, black squirrels are dominant and they can be viewed up close in Moss Park and just about any other park downtown where they are less shy.
Black Squirrels can also be found in Britain.
There are also pockets of black squirrels in areas where smaller tree squirrels are usually dominant.[citation needed] For example, in Detroit, Michigan, there is a teeming population of black squirrels in the Mt. Elliott Cemetery.
It is doubtful the black squirrels of the Great Lakes region are willing to share their territory with any squirrel species of similar size.[citation needed] They do, however, appear to coexist well with other members of the Sciuridae family such as chipmunks and woodchucks.
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[edit] Origin lore
Several cities and towns in the United States, two in Canada, as well as a few in England boast to be the "Home of the Black Squirrels".
- Annapolis, Maryland[citation needed]
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Bellingham, Washington
- Brampton, England
- Clarinda, Iowa[citation needed]
- Council Bluffs, Iowa[citation needed]
- Frederick, Maryland[citation needed]
- Histon, England
- Hitchin, England
- Hobbs, New Mexico[citation needed]
- Kent, Ohio. Some businesses, organizations, and events in Kent are named for the black squirrel, including the Black Squirrel Festival[1], Black Squirrel Music[2], and Black Squirrel Books, an imprint of the Kent State University Press.[3] Kent State University has recognized the black squirrel as a symbol of the university.[4]
- Lake Grove, New York
- Letchworth, England[5]
- London, Ontario[1]
- Marysville, Kansas[2]
- Muncie, Indiana
- Palo Alto, California[3]
- Princeton, New Jersey
- Haverford, Pennsylvania
- Reedsburg, Wisconsin
- Santa Cruz, California
- Stevenage, England
- Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Warsaw, Indiana[citation needed]
- Alexandria, Indiana
- Westfield, Massachusetts[citation needed]
- Westfield, Wisconsin
- Winchester, Virginia
- Catskill, New York
- Foxboro, Massachusetts
[edit] College mascot
Haverford College of Haverford, Pennsylvania's mascot is the black squirrel. The Black Squirrel is the name of a coffee shop at Sarah Lawrence College.[6] The black squirrel is also an unofficial mascot of Kent State University and Girton College, Cambridge.[7]
[edit] Gallery
 Black squirrel in Santa Clara, California |
 Black squirrel in Princeton, New Jersey |
 Black Squirrel in Tarrytown, New York |
[edit] References
- ^ Kent, Ohio events at kentohio.net. Retrieved 27 March 2008.
- ^ Directory of music publishers at the Music Publishers' Association of the United States. Retrieved 27 March 2008.
- ^ Black Squirrel Books, Kent State University Press. Retrieved 27 March 2008.
- ^ A brief history of the black squirrel at Kent State University. Office of the Registrar. Retrieved 27 March 2008.
- ^ Squirrel wars: reds, greys and blacks battle for supremacy. The Times. Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
- ^ Sarah Lawrence College List of Student Spaces http://www.slc.edu/studentlife/student-handbook/Student_Spaces.php
- ^ 2006's Top Ten White & Black Squirrels' Hot Spots, at cryptomundo.com. Retrieved 28 March 2008.
