White squirrels flitting around Colfax

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By LeAnn R. Ralph

COLFAX — Maybe you’ve seen the white squirrel in Colfax? Or is it more than one?

Several people have told the Colfax Messenger about seeing a white squirrel — or squirrels.

The sightings of the white squirrel — or squirrels — are in different areas of the village, so perhaps there is more than one.

After hearing about the white squirrels, one of the ghostly-looking little creatures showed up outside the Colfax Messenger office on a recent afternoon.

As the little guy nosed around in the fallen leaves right outside the Messenger’s door, it was a matter of tip-toeing across the office, stealthily taking the camera out of the camera bag, tip-toeing back to the door, with the intention of trying to take a photograph through the window, and …

No squirrel.

Where did he go?

The squirrel sighting occurred after six inches of snow had fallen October 20. By the time the squirrel visited the Messenger office, there was still some snow right along the building and …

There he was.

Next to the snow.

Camouflaged.

When the white squirrel moved back toward the sidewalk, there was a 15 second window of opportunity to get some pictures.

And then the white squirrel scampered across the grass and fallen leaves toward the street and was gone.

Although the initial assumption was the white squirrel is an albino, that turns out not to be the case. The squirrel has dark eyes, and not red, so it is not an albino.

Internet research reveals that the United States has no species of white squirrel and that a white squirrel is most likely an eastern gray squirrel that is “leucistic” which means the squirrel has a loss of pigmentation in its fur so that it looks white or blond or with patchy color on its body.

The eastern gray squirrel is common in the eastern part of the United States and in the Midwest.

Some cities, such as Brevard, North Carolina; Marionville, Missouri; and Olney, Illinois, have a large population of white eastern gray squirrels.

According to news stories, the white squirrels in Brevard, North Carolina, can be traced to white squirrels that had escaped from a carnival and were captured and given to someone as a gift in 1949. One of those squirrels escaped, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Wildlife biologists speculate that the white squirrels survive and can add their white coloration genes to the gene pool because predators, such as hawks, do not recognize them as prey since they are used to seeing gray squirrels or red squirrels.

Other theories about why the white squirrels manage to survive is because when they live in an urban setting, there are just naturally fewer predators to hunt them.

Another theory is that when white squirrels live in cities or villages, human inhabitants become enchanted by them. Gray squirrels are viewed as pests that can empty a bird feeder in no time flat, can chew holes in house siding and can become unwelcome guests in attics.

White squirrels, on the other hand, can draw visitors and be a source of tourism.

In Brevard, for example, the city council approved an ordinance in 1986 to establish a sanctuary for the city’s white squirrels, and Brevard now celebrates an annual “White Squirrel Festival.”

The city even has a White Squirrel Research Institute.

Zooming in on the picture of the squirrel who was outside the Colfax Messenger office reveals small hints of very light brown in the animal’s coat, so he is definitely leucistic and not albino.

At any rate, maybe the white squirrel — or squirrels — in Colfax are the start of an entire white squirrel population.

Who knows?

Perhaps Colfax will one day be holding a white squirrel festival, too.