Now into my third month in town, I feel like I’m officially a Columbian: I had my first documented encounter with a white squirrel.
My wife and I had spotted one scampering alongside our driveway several times when we arrived home, but we didn’t know the story and thought it was just an albino.
But then some co-workers explained the origin of the squirrels, which former Gov. Hugh White introduced decades ago. Their descendants still roam the city, a living reminder of the influential businessman and politician’s legacy.
Ashley spotted one through the kitchen window Sunday and called the rest of the family in to see. I grabbed my camera and telephoto lens and moved to the room closest to the squirrel, who was gnawing on an acorn. I got a few pictures of him (or her) through the window, but it wasn’t quite close enough.
So I headed outside to try and get a better view. Unfortunately, I am not a hunter, and my abilities to sneak up on wildlife are sadly wanting. The others watching through the window reported the squirrel looked up the minute I walked through the door, which was on the opposite side of the house. By the time I had made it around, it was just a bleached blur heading for a big pine tree. I tried to walk around to get a view of it, but it kept darting higher and higher until I gave up.
Oh, well. It was an honor to have photographed the elusive beast at all, and I’m hopeful there will be more opportunities. It was interesting to zoom in on the photo and see the squirrel’s black eyes, the telltale sign that it is not an albino. Those red eyes of albino animals have always creeped me out a little bit, so I’m glad our white squirrels are different.
Rob Nelson, an ecologist at the University of Hawaii of all places, has researched white squirrels. He has a page on his website (untamedscience.com/biodiversity/white-squirrel/) explaining the science behind the coloration. He also has a form to report sightings, and in the name of science and civic pride I submitted mine.
Nelson reports 80 percent of white squirrels are “white morphs.” The rest are albinos. They’re all Eastern gray squirrels, but the whiteness is caused by different genes on an albino and a white morph. From my understanding, the albino is more of a random mutation, as it is in many other species, while the white morph is just a gene tucked away deep in the sequence of this species.
Several towns are known for the white squirrels, either because of a lack of predators or because of special breeding or introduction by someone like Hugh White. They include Marionville, Mo., Brevard, N.C., Olney, Ill., and Kenton, Tenn. Brevard is even home to the “White Squirrel Shoppe,” and Marionville has a white squirrel costume.
Can you imagine the tourism possibilities, Columbia?
Charlie Smith is editor and publisher of The Columbian-Progress. Reach him at csmith@columbianprogress.com or (601) 736-2611.
