What color are your squirrels?

[koganbot]

What color are your squirrels?

In Connecticut, where I am right now, they are gray. In Colorado, where I live, they have a lot of brownish red in their gray.

Comments

Squirrel Census

[talrose.livejournal.com]

Because there are so many variations of squirrels in Chicago, a man named Steve Sullivan from the The Chicago Academy of Sciences Nature Museum took it upon himself to initiate a squirrel census! I highly recommend checking it out and participating, as it gives a better understanding not just of how squirrels make up our country, but what they can tell us about our changing ecology (which the website says they do).

In Chicago, I've seen many different colors of squirrels, whether they be black with gray chests or auburn or gray with white chests. Very mixed squirrel population here, and always has been. Also, my girlfriend thinks I look like a squirrel, so we also have olive-colored with brown hair and varyings colors of sweaters (today it's blue).

Re: Squirrel Census

[talrose.livejournal.com]

Forgot to include the link:

http://www.projectsquirrel.org/index.shtml

Re: Squirrel Census

[joshlanghoff.livejournal.com]

Tal, you're from Chicago! I'm up in the north suburbs. We have mostly the gray with white chests, I think, but there are some black ones. It's not like they're RARE, but they're rare enough (or we're hayseed enough) to say "Look! A black squirrel!"

Re: Squirrel Census

[talrose.livejournal.com]

Hey Josh, small world!

It'd be interesting to know the statistical data of your suburb, since the squirrel census site says that gray squirrels tend to flock to areas of high human population density with low levels of predators (pets included). Squirrels that are brown and orange usually nestle in woodsy areas with high levels of predators. Also, the type of tree that tends to grow in a given suburb has some impact on what kind of squirrel resides there.

Re: Squirrel Census

[joshlanghoff.livejournal.com]

Well, if you're interested in ferreting out the appropriate data, here you go:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round_Lake,_Illinois

Population density is slightly higher than the county as a whole. There are woodsy areas, but there are always houses around somewhere nearby. We have birds of prey and dogs!