Today I learned that squirrels can be black, and they roll their babies into tiny fluffy balls to make carrying them easier

Me rolling up my chud son to take him to school

🐿 This is what a squirrel's nest looks like from the inside

I took this video when I was working in the Bronx, there are surprisingly a lot of black squirrels in the Bronx, this old fella had a friendship with this black squirrel and would call to it to give it peanuts.

There are also Fox Squirrels.

Squirrels come in a variety of colors

i knew about black squirrels but not the ball thing! So cool, so smart!

Theres tons of black squirrels where im from yall are acting like this is rare

We have black squirrels on Chicago’s north shore - Winnetka is where I usually see them. They are so pretty.

It’s actually a fascinating survival reflex! 🧠🐿️ The mother doesn't even have to roll them herself; the babies instinctively tuck in their legs and tail to form a perfect, compact ball the moment she grabs them. 🥎✨ It makes relocating them between nests so much faster and safer for both of them! 🌳🖤🎒

Yup. There’s a big population of them on the grounds of the Bronx zoo

Look at this super cutie!

most of our squirrels are black in ontario and then some grey ones

It’s called melanism. Just like how animals can also be albino.

Black squirrels were brought from Canada to Kent State University many years ago. They brought 10 squirrels and now they have multiplied to many states. We see a lot here in Ohio!

White squirrel

less than 1.3% of squirrels are black, but the commit >5.0% of all squirrel attacks. <joke>

Rolling their babies into tiny fluffy balls for easier carrying? That's both genius and unbelievably cute. 🥹🐿️

They are awesome. I didn’t believe they existed then found a pair of them living near my brothers house.

Here in Palo Alto Calif, there are a few black squirrels. Urban legend has it that they "escaped from a lab" at Stanford University decades ago, and have become part of the ecology now.

Wow,this is amazing 🤩👏. The mom was like,,come baby fold up,let me carry you.

Yes, we definitely have black squirrels in Northern Ohio, thanks to a Kent State University Professer, who brought them down from Canada in 1961 to study, letting them roam about campus. Which lead to them breeding, which essentially wiped out our native red squirrel population.

In Huntington, Indiana they have squirrels that are 1/2 black 1/2 brown

We've got Blackie, one two and three that we feed lol

omg so cute

All squirrels roll their babies into balls. It’s very cute

I remember when black squirrels first came out. I'd never seen a black squirrel my whole life and then all of a sudden it was black squirrels everywhere in DC. Im not ashamed to say I was scared

Squiggers is what they’re called.

Black squirrels are native, browns are invasive

@DaveChappal

Canada has a lot of black squirrels. The first time I saw them was when I visited Parliament in Ottawa. They were everywhere! As a visiting American, I was so shocked - but quickly reassured by Canadians that this is normal there.

How cute!

The first time I saw one was in the middle of the street in Toronto. At first I thought it was an abandoned kitten and went over to pick it up, but was relieved to discover it was a black squirrel when it scurried off. They also have white ones in Florida.

squirrels will also castrate their young if there’s too many squirrels in the area

Baby squirrels out here getting bundled like limited edition plushies