Recent WildCare Patients
Is that a new species of jet-black squirrel?
Nope! This striking youngster is actually an Eastern Gray Squirrel, the same species you probably see in your backyard or local park, just in a rare melanistic morph.
Biologists believe that black morph squirrels, sometimes called “super squirrels,” may actually have a few advantages over their gray counterparts. In cooler northern habitats where sunlight is limited and conifer forests dominate, darker fur helps absorb more warmth from the sun and provides better camouflage among the shadows in the dense, leafy canopy.
Melanistic squirrels are relatively uncommon—only about one in ten thousand Eastern Gray Squirrels is black—so spotting one is a rare treat!
Every year, WildCare’s Wildlife Hospital admits hundreds of squirrels for care, and only a handful, if any, are black morphs. Whether gray, sable, red, or black, each one plays an important role in keeping our urban forests healthy and thriving.