I had read about black squirrels and seen pictures of them but never did I think I would actually see one, or two! Five friends went for a drive through the mountains near Pine, Bailey and Foxton, Colorado and were amazed at the beautiful scenery in the area. Imagine my surprise when crossing in front of our car, I saw a black cat. Someone yelled, "Look, it's a black squirrel!" It scrambled up a tree and we tried creeping up on it when suddenly another black squirrel appeared. They moved fast as they scrambled up the tree and I was unable to get a picture. How exciting to see two black squirrels because this was a first for me.
Being curious, arriving home I looked on the Internet to find out more about the cute and unusual squirrels. They are rare but are becoming more common. Melanism is a genetic condition that causes the black color. (An increased amount of black pigmentation in skin feathers or hair.) It is considered good luck to see a black squirrel. Kent University considers a black squirrel their unofficial mascot! Ten states in the United States and Ontario, Canada were mentioned of being home to black squirrels but Colorado was not mentioned. This gives me a feeling that we were very lucky to see two of the unusual creatures on our traveling in the mountains.
"The squirrels, leaping joyfully
from branch to branch: not a single one
doubts its existence!"
Marty Rubin
Too bad you didn't get a picture, but they do move quickly. How interesting that Colorado wasn't mentioned as a place that they might be found. Maybe these guys got lost!
ReplyDeleteAt first I thought it was a black cat as it scurried across the road but then I saw the bushy tail. It climbed the tree and soon another one joined it and both disappeared into the green leaves of the tree! No one was able to get a photo but we all wished we had been able to!
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