WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-Black Squirrels

We are used to seeing red and grey squirrels in this area, but now we have several reports of black squirrels which aren't as common. Naturalist Charlie Browne from the Fairbanks Museum tells is that black squirrels are actually more common in other parts of the country.

"They're not common here, they're common in other parts of the country, and they actually are the same species as our grey squirrels. Their behavior, and size and habits are the same as grey squirrels, but yes, they are just a different genetic makeup that causes them to produce a lot of melanin, which makes them dark."

Black squirrels used to be more common in Vermont, back before the early settlers cleared so much land.

"And they probably had an advantage in that the black absorbs more sunshine and they could be warmer in a cold climate like Vermont, and their dark color probably camouflaged them in the canopy of the forest from predators like hawks and owls. They used to be here, but now we predominantly have grey squirrels which seem to have been favored when the land was cleared by the early settlers, better camouflage on the ground and in the open forest."

So which squirrel is going to win? Now that Vermont is becoming more forested again, will we see more black squirrels than grey squirrels eventually?

"Well because they are the same species, we'll probably see both, but I would expect black squirrels to be more common as time goes on as long as Vermont remains primarily a forested landscape."