Unusual squirrels noticed
CHICORA — At first it may sound a bit nutty, but a Chicora couple is keeping tabs on two squirrels that have taken up residence in their yard. These aren’t your usual squirrels, however: they are white.
This tail began a few months back when Brenda and Brian Werner first noticed one of the tree-mendous critters at their Werner Lane house.
Thinking the white pair was rare, the couple photographed the squirrels with patience. The animals are, after all, a little squirrelly.
“If they hear you coming, they run,” said Brian Werner, who chose to share the locationon the Internet and with the Butler Eagle.
“I have read that only one in 38,000 Pennsylvania squirrels is white,” Brenda said. “How fortunate we are to have two out of 76,000.”
Biologist, zoologist and all-around squirrel expert John Stencil of Iowa said white squirrels are kind of neat and not common.
Albinos are a little more rare. But most white squirrels found around the country, including the ones in the Werner’s yard, do not qualify for that designation. To be an albino, a squirrel must have all white skin and fur and pink eyes.
The squirrels in the Werner’s yard have dark eyes and some markings in their fur — that’s how the couple tells the two apart.
Stencil said he gets calls from all over the country when people spot a white squirrel or an albino.
“People just have a lot of interest in this kind of animal,” said Stencil, who formerly lived in Oleney, Ill., known as “Home of the White Squirrel.”
Every October, the people of Oleney — population 9,115 — count the local white squirrels.
City Clerk Belinda Henton said the squirrel population is albino, which is caused by a recessives gene, and therefore dwindling with time. Last year’s count was about 100, but the counters admit it’s not completely accurate since the squirrels refuse to sit still.
“We’re positive we miss a lot,” said Henton, who also is a professional wildlife rehabilitator.
Legend has it that the albino squirrel population began in Oleney when a local saloon acquired two to display in a window to attract customers. The community passed a law against wild animals in public places and the squirrels were let loose and started to breed.
Since then, the community has developed a love-hate relationship with its claim to fame.
“Like right now I have to settle a dispute between two neighbors,” Henton said. “One is spending a tremendous amount of money to feed the squirrels and the other neighbor is trapping them.”
While Oleney, which has a white squirrel mascot costume, calls on the animals as tourist attractions, the Werners said they are private people who don’t want to draw a crowd to their beech nut trees.
“We just thought it was unusual so we took some pictures. We’ve never seen that before,” Brian said. “We see bear and stuff, but everyone sees those.”
