You might spot black squirrels in all sorts of places—and yes, they’re absolutely real. A genetic change gives some eastern gray and fox squirrels black fur, so you could see one in a city park, a backyard, or somewhere near the Great Lakes. Let’s dig into where these squirrels pop up and what that striking dark coat means for them.
We’ll look at how this color happens, where black morphs show up most, and how that color might help a squirrel survive. Ever wonder why you see a bunch of black squirrels in some places, but almost none in others? Let’s find out.
Can There Be Black Squirrels?
You can find black squirrels both in nature and in cities. They’re just a color variant of common squirrel species, and changes in pigment genes cause their dark fur.
What Is a Black Squirrel?
A black squirrel is just a squirrel with mostly or totally black fur caused by melanism. Melanism means the hair has extra dark pigment.
This isn’t a separate species—it’s just a color form of a species you already know.
Genetics drive the dark fur. In eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis), a specific change in a pigment gene can lead to a black coat.
Fox squirrels (Sciurus niger) can also get dark phases through different genetic changes. The black coat can look anywhere from dark brown to jet black, depending on how many pigment alleles the squirrel has.
Black squirrels act and look like regular squirrels in every other way. You’ll still see them eating nuts, climbing trees, and building nests just like their gray or brown relatives.
Which Squirrel Species Have Black Morphs?
You’ll most often see black morphs in eastern gray squirrels and fox squirrels. Both species naturally show a range of colors, and melanistic forms turn up within their ranges.
Eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) pop up as black morphs more often in the northern part of their range, especially near the Great Lakes Basin.
Fox squirrels (Sciurus niger) have melanism more often in the southeastern United States and in a few scattered spots elsewhere. Other species, like Eurasian red squirrels and some ground squirrels, can be melanistic, but that’s pretty rare.
If you spot a black squirrel, check its location and size to help figure out the species. Eastern grays are usually medium-sized and often have lighter bellies unless they’re fully black. Fox squirrels are bigger and can show a bunch of different color phases, including solid black.
How Rare Are Black Squirrels?
Black squirrels aren’t super common in most places, but they’re not always rare everywhere. In many regions, black morphs make up less than 1% of the squirrel population.
But in some spots, they’re everywhere.
In Ontario and Michigan, black morphs of eastern gray squirrels show up all the time. Sometimes, they’re even the majority. Observation projects have found high local rates in the Great Lakes Basin.
If you’re somewhere else, you might see just one black squirrel out of thousands of regular-colored ones.
Genes, local history, and what people have done in the area all matter here. People have introduced black morphs in some cities, which led to dense local populations.
If you see more than one black squirrel in a park or neighborhood, chances are that spot has a higher-than-normal frequency of the melanistic gene.
Where Black Squirrels Are Most Common
You’ll mostly find black squirrels in the Great Lakes region, where eastern gray squirrels with black coats are pretty common. Ontario and Michigan seem to have a ton of them, and some cities around the basin do too.
Some towns have a lot of black squirrels because people brought them in on purpose. For example, a few U.S. cities and college campuses ended up with big black squirrel populations after historical releases.
Fox squirrels’ black phase turns up more in the southeastern U.S., and in a few local river valleys.
Urban areas usually have more black squirrels than rural forests. Cities shelter small populations and keep predators away, which helps black morphs stick around.
If you want to spot one, try parks or older neighborhoods in the Great Lakes Basin, or visit towns known for their black squirrel populations.
Why and How Black Squirrels Exist
Black squirrels get their color from simple genetic changes. These changes tweak pigment and can affect how the animal heats up, hides, or acts in different places.
Melanism and Genetic Causes
Melanism just means there’s extra dark pigment in the fur. For eastern gray and fox squirrels, a change in a pigment gene leads to that black coat.
In eastern gray squirrels, researchers found a 24-base-pair deletion in the melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) gene causes black fur. Other squirrel species might get melanism through different genetic routes, like point mutations or several genes working together.
Melanistic squirrels aren’t a new species. They’re just color morphs—members of the same species with different fur.
If a parent has the black pigment gene, it might pass that trait to its babies. In some spots, the gene is so common that black squirrels are everywhere.
If you want to dig into the genetics, check out this explanation of black squirrel genetics (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_squirrel).
Benefits of Black Fur for Squirrels
Black fur can offer some solid advantages, depending on where the squirrel lives. Dark coats soak up more sunlight, which helps keep squirrels warmer in cold weather.
Studies have shown that melanistic squirrels lose less heat and can get active earlier on chilly mornings. That thermal boost might let them live farther north or stay busy through cold seasons.
Black fur can also help with camouflage. In forests with dark ground or after fires, a black squirrel might be a lot harder to spot. This can cut down on predator attacks in those spots.
But in bright, leafy woods, the dark coat can stand out, so whether it helps really depends on the environment and the season.
Behavior and Comparison With Other Squirrels
You’ll notice black squirrels act a lot like their squirrel cousins. Most research hasn’t found any big behavior differences between melanistic and non-melanistic eastern gray squirrels.
They both spend their days foraging, hiding food, and dodging predators. At least, that’s what most studies suggest.
But sometimes, small differences pop up. For instance, melanistic fox squirrels might get moving earlier on cold mornings—they seem to warm up faster when there’s not much light.
In cities, black squirrels seem more common. Maybe they just handle people better, or maybe it’s because of how they were introduced in the first place.
Other types, like red squirrels or those rare white ones, have their own habits. Their patterns mostly depend on species, where they live, and their genetics.
