Unique Animal Caught On Camera In New York

Now that pretty much everyone has a camera on them 24/7 there are more and more unique photos hitting the internet.

Yesterday while scrolling on X, formally known as Twitter, I saw a post from a woman in Williamsville, New York. She posted this photo of a black squirrel.

While not common, there are a lot of them in the area.

It turns out that black squirrels are a subgroup of Eastern Grey Squirrels and according to Wikipedia, some scientists think that the all-black fur is a genetic advantage allowing the squirrel to absorb more of the sun's heat to stay warmer. It would make sense to see black squirrels here in New York since we are known to get some very cold weather.

Some people also mentioned that black squirrels are pretty common in Lewiston, New York, and in the Niagara Falls State Park as well. Black squirrels are also pretty common in Ontario Canada and can be seen running around Toronto.

According to scientists, on average one out of 10,000 eastern gray squirrels have the all-black gene to make their fur appear all-black.

Get our free mobile app

Now that more and more squirrels are out and about running all over New York, the chances for you to spot the rare all-black squirrel are increasing. Just in case you don't see one, check out some photos I took last year.