In our travels throughout cottage country, we had never come across white squirrels. Since we moved to our cottage, we come across these guys regularly. Any ideas on how rare they are?—Jeff & Bev Carter, Dog Lake, Ont.
They’re certainly not common. But a dark-coloured animal having a white coat isn’t as rare as you probably think. It’s called leucism, and it’s caused by a recessive gene that results in a partial, but not complete, lack of pigment.
“Even though it happens with many species, it isn’t commonly seen in squirrels because it makes them exceedingly vulnerable to predation,” says David Hackett, a small mammals expert with Nippissing University in North Bay, Ont. And squirrels are prey for a lot of predators. “A white squirrel would stand out too obviously against the spring/summer/fall background.” And therefore, it wouldn’t live long enough to pass on its genetic material.
Cottage Q&A: Why are these squirrels chewing antlers?
If there are multiple white squirrels around Dog Lake, Hackett suspects the human presence there could be deterring potential squirrel predators. “I’ll bet that the cottages are providing them good protection,” says Hackett. “In a similar, but less visually obvious way, you will see many black-coated squirrels in city parks—lots of people, few predators—but you won’t see many black squirrels out in nature,” he says. “They get eaten.”
For generations, this family has shared their Northern Ontario home with the rare white moose
It’s also possible that your squirrels are amelanistic, a.k.a. albino squirrels, says Stan Boutin, a mammalian ecologist at the University of Alberta. Leucistic mammals have dark eyes; since albinos lack melanin everywhere, including their eyes, the eyes appear red or pink. Albinism is even less common than leucism, “but it certainly does occur in animals,” says Boutin. “They usually don’t seem to last too long.” Along with other health problems, albino animals can have poor vision, or in some cases, be completely blind. That would make it even harder for them to escape predators.
Got a question for Cottage Q&A? Send it to answers@cottagelife.com.
This article was originally published in the Winter 2023 issue of Cottage Life.
Related Story Federal court rules that Canada’s environment minister violated the species at risk act
Related Story How well do you know your weasels?
Related Story Cottage Q&A: Is feeding chipmunks okay?