Ok, someone please help me out here. In Ohio, on a college campus i THINK is Baldwin-Wallace (but I'll doublecheck that...it was years ago when I visited colleges there for schooling prospects)....there are these very large squirrels, that are colored, more or less, like skunks. Only the striping isn't as uniform. More or less, their bodies are mottled with a combination of very dark brown to black fur, with random patches of white fur. Now, I was 18 at the time and not too wordly, so I just figured it was some squirrel species I didn't know about yet...but as time hass gone on, I've never seen brownish-black/white squirrels anywhere else on earth....what the hell species is this? They're abundant too on this campus...I probably saw 25 or 30 fitting this description so it's not some fluke albino or bizarre mutant....it's an abundant population of squirrels like this.
So please zoology majors...clue me in...what species is this? Surely it can't be an unknown species...can it?
2007-05-05 14:37:52 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
Sounds like alot like a spotted souskil
(Spermophilus suslicus), multiple white patches, very dark brown on back with patches, white underbelly, brown color between underbelly and back, short tail.
I hope that helps
2007-05-05 15:29:51 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm not a zoologist but they could be gray squirrels.Gray squirrels have many color variants.I have seen from gray to reddish brown in my area and all black in other areas. there are a couple of towns that have all white populations that are not albino. Check this sight out you may be able to get an identification for your squirrels if not you will at least get a laugh. www.scarysquirrel.org
2007-05-05 21:58:50 · answer #2 · answered by scott_kel 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They could beEastern Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger)
See
http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/wildlife/resources/wildnotes/foxsquirrel.htm
Wikipedia discussed some color variation
Spermophilus suslicus is a European species so we can eliminate that.
The Golden mantled ground squirrel lives in the Rocky Mountains and western US and is small and looks more like a chipmunk so that doesn't work for Ohio.
I do agree with Scott's answer about Grey Squirrels having color variations in small populations. And Fox Squirrels also have color variation so it could be either one.
2007-05-05 23:16:45 · answer #3 · answered by michael971 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Sound like the golden mantled ground squirrel.
2007-05-05 21:53:09 · answer #4 · answered by squick24 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Must be the dreaded AFLAC squirrel. Don't drive near them. (Actually, I don't know, but AFLAC's last letter stands for Columbus, OH)
2007-05-05 21:41:39 · answer #5 · answered by cattbarf 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋