Snack Time #1

by Wild Thing

Title

Snack Time #1

Artist

Wild Thing

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Black squirrel
The black squirrel occurs as a "melanistic" subgroup of both the eastern gray squirrel and the fox squirrel Their habitat extends throughout the Midwestern United States, in some areas of the Northeastern United States, eastern Canada, and also in the United Kingdom. The overall population of black squirrels is small when compared to that of the gray squirrel. The black fur color can occur naturally as a mutation in populations of gray squirrels, but it is rare. The rarity of the black squirrel has caused many people to admire them, and the black squirrels enjoy great affection in some places as mascots. In several U.S. states, as well as in Canada and the United Kingdom, black squirrels have been introduced into the wild in the hope of increasing their numbers.
As a rare mutation of both the eastern gray and fox squirrel, individual black squirrels can exist wherever gray or fox squirrels live. Among eastern squirrels, gray mating pairs cannot produce black offspring. Gray squirrels have two copies of a normal pigment gene and black squirrels have either one or two copies of a mutant pigment gene. If a black squirrel has two copies of the mutant gene it will be jet black. If it has one copy of a mutant gene and one normal gene it will be brown-black. In areas with high concentrations of black squirrels, litters of mixed-color individuals are common. The black subgroup seems to have been predominant throughout North America prior to the arrival of Europeans in the 16th century, when America's old growth forests were still abundant and thick. The black squirrel's dark color helped them hide in these very dense and shaded old growth forests. As time passed, extensive deforestation and the hunting of squirrels for their meat and pelts led to biological advantages for gray colored individuals; their light-gray color became advantageous in their newly changed habitat. Today, the black subgroup is particularly abundant in the northern part of the eastern gray squirrel's range. This is due to two main factors. Firstly, black squirrels have a considerably higher cold tolerance than that of gray squirrel. Secondly, because the northern forests are denser and thus darker, the black squirrel enjoys the advantage of better concealment among this dimly lit habitat.
Mascot and symbol
Though black squirrels are common or predominant in many areas of North America, their overall rarity (perhaps as few as 1 in 10,000) has caused many towns, cities, colleges, and universities to take special pride in their populations of black squirrels. Several cities and towns in the United States and one in Canada make efforts to publicly promote their local populations of black squirrels.
� Detroit, Michigan and Lansing, Michigan
� Middletown, Connecticut
� Marysville, Kansas
� Westfield, Massachusetts
� Council Bluffs, Iowa
� London, Ontario
� Toronto, Ontario
� Kent, Ohio
� Glendale, Ohio
� Charleston, West Virginia
Several colleges and universities in the United States promote the black squirrel as an official or unofficial mascot:
� Haverford College where the black squirrel is the official mascot of varsity athletics
� Kent State University which each year holds a Black Squirrel Festival (located in the Risman Plaza during the second week of September) to honor the university's growing black squirrel population. It features live music, vendors and an overall tribute to the black squirrels seen throughout the campus. Beyond the festival, other businesses and organizations in Kent are named for the black squirrel, including Black Squirrel Brewing Company, Black Squirrel Radio and Black Squirrel Books, an imprint of the Kent State University Press.
� Albion College where the black squirrel has become a significant symbol on campus
� Sarah Lawrence College where the campus coffee shop is named for the black squirrel. The black squirrel is also used as an unofficial mascot, with the bookstore selling plush squirrels.
� The College of Wooster where a student on the official website describes an "obsession over black squirrels" and there is a bed and breakfast nearby campus which is named after the animal.

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February 4th, 2017

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