The Day the First Black One Arrived
By: Mr. Wilson on
June 6, 2011
You might recall that I first sighted black squirrels in my neighborhood back in December. I predicted they wouldn't make it the 1/3 mile to our house for some time, if ever thanks to nearby cats. I was wrong.
The first time I saw the squirrel it was hanging out with two of its more traditionally-hued cousins. I would describe their activity as some sort of game of tag. Then again, I'm no squirrelologist. This morning it was being chased around my neighbor's roof by another squirrel. I guess yesterday's game of tag left some hard feelings.
You're probably dying for some black squirrel trivia. Black squirrels are actually a subgroup of eastern gray squirrels. They are native to parts of Canada and the northern and eastern United States. Lincoln's population of black squirrels was apparently introduced artificially, though I have no idea when or by whom. The black squirrel is the mascot of Council Bluffs, where they have lived since the first half of the 19th Century. Perhaps that's where Lincoln's population originated.
Black squirrel sightings aren't quite "common" in Lincoln, but it seems populations have spread across the city. I'm aware of sightings or thriving pockets at:
- South College View, from Pioneers to Highway 2 and 48th to 56th
- The South Bottoms
- Near South
- East of Holmes Lake
- Near the Governor's mansion
- Near Southeast High School and extending north toward Campbell's Nurseries
- 20th and Superior
- Havelock, along Touzalin Ave
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Wow, that’s a great picture!
Saw two within about 20 feet of each other on the MoPac Trail near 56th Street on Monday.
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