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Are Black Squirrels Rare? Common in Some Towns, Absent Elsewhere

Black squirrels are grey squirrels with a pigment variant, not a separate species. Why they cluster in particular towns and what the colour buys them.

By Zakaria 3 min read Save to Pinterest — opens Pinterest in a new tab
A black squirrel sitting upright on grass, its coat and tail uniformly dark brown-black
Photo: Anurag Jamwal, Pexels License, via Pexels
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Both answers are true, which is why the question is confusing. Roughly one in ten thousand across the range, and the ordinary squirrel on the street in a handful of towns.

Rare, and common, at the same time

Why the answers conflict
ScaleFrequency
Across the whole range~1 in 10,000 — genuinely rare
Parts of Ontario and MichiganCommon, sometimes the majority
Several college townsCommon, often introduced deliberately
Most of the southern rangeRare to absent
Britain, where greys are introducedLocal pockets, notably Cambridgeshire

Both statements are accurate. Someone in Kent, Ohio sees them daily; someone in Georgia may never see one.

What makes a squirrel black

A mutation affecting the MC1R gene, which controls how much dark pigment the coat produces. It is a single-gene variant, not a species difference, which has two consequences:

  • Black and grey squirrels interbreed freely
  • A single litter can contain both, depending on which copies the kits inherit

Some populations trace the variant to interbreeding between grey and fox squirrels, which carries its own dark-coat gene — the genetics are better described as a family of variants than one mutation.

Why particular towns

Two things that reinforce each other:

  • Founder effects. A small number of black squirrels introduced or surviving in one place produces a population where the variant is disproportionately common. Several famous populations trace to deliberate releases in parks and on university campuses in the early twentieth century
  • Reduced predation. In towns there are fewer hawks and owls, so a conspicuous coat costs less than it does in open woodland

The colour is a trade-off, not an upgrade

Studies have found melanistic grey squirrels lose slightly less heat and absorb more solar radiation than grey ones — consistent with the variant being commoner toward the north of the range.

Against that, a black squirrel is obvious against snow and pale bark. Where raptors are common, the cost outweighs the gain, which is a large part of why the variant thrives in towns and not in open country.

They are not taking over

A persistent claim, and not supported. Black squirrels are the same species with the same behaviour — they do not displace grey ones, and where they have become common it is through the ordinary spread of a gene variant.

The belief probably survives because a striking animal is more noticeable and more memorable than the grey ones in the same tree.

The other variants

  • White squirrels — leucistic. Dark eyes, white coat. The commoner kind, and they cluster in particular towns exactly as black ones do. Olney, Illinois and Brevard, North Carolina are both known for them
  • White squirrels — albino. Pink eyes, genuinely very rare
  • Red and blonde variants, occasionally
  • Fox squirrels, which are naturally variable across their range — grey, rust, black and almost silver depending on region

None of these are separate species either.

The short answer

A black squirrel is a grey squirrel with a different coat. Rare if you count the whole continent, unremarkable if you live in one of the towns where the variant took hold.

Common questions

Are black squirrels rare?

It depends entirely on where you are, which is why the question gets such contradictory answers. Across the whole range of the eastern grey squirrel, melanistic individuals are roughly one in ten thousand — genuinely rare. But in particular towns and regions they make up a large share of the population and are the ordinary squirrel people see daily, with parts of Ontario, Michigan, Ohio and several college towns being well known for them. Rare overall, locally common.

Are black squirrels a separate species?

No. They are eastern grey squirrels, and occasionally fox squirrels, carrying a pigment variant. The colour comes from a mutation affecting the MC1R gene, which controls how much dark pigment the coat produces, and a black squirrel can have grey littermates. Because it is a single-gene variant rather than a species difference, black and grey squirrels interbreed freely and the offspring's colour depends on which copies they inherit.

Why are black squirrels common in some towns?

Two reasons that reinforce each other. Founder effects — a small number of black squirrels introduced or surviving in one place produces a population where the variant is disproportionately common — and reduced predation pressure in urban areas, where hawks and owls are fewer and colour matters less. Several well-known populations trace to deliberate introductions, including squirrels released in parks and on university campuses in the early twentieth century.

Do black squirrels have any advantage?

A modest one in cold weather. Studies have found melanistic grey squirrels lose slightly less heat and absorb more solar radiation than grey ones, which is consistent with the variant being more frequent toward the northern part of the range. The trade-off is conspicuousness: a black squirrel stands out against snow and pale bark, so where hawks and owls are common the colour costs more than it gains — which is part of why it does better in towns.

Are black squirrels aggressive or dominant?

No, despite a persistent claim that they drive out grey ones. They are the same species with the same behaviour, and where black squirrels have become common it is through the ordinary spread of a gene variant rather than through displacing anything. The idea likely persists because a striking-looking animal is more noticeable and more memorable than the grey ones sharing the same tree.

What other squirrel colour variants exist?

White squirrels are the other well-known one, and they come in two kinds — true albinos with pink eyes, which are very rare, and leucistic white squirrels with dark eyes, which are commoner and cluster in particular towns the way black ones do. Olney in Illinois and Brevard in North Carolina are both known for white squirrel populations. Red and blonde variants occur as well, and fox squirrels are naturally variable across their range.

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