Inquisitive black squirrel visits my deck - close ups

Where I live, black squirrels are much more common than grey squirrels. In fact, I didn’t know they were any kind of a deal until one day, I had a friend visiting from the USA and as we were driving through my neighbourhood, she said, “Stop the car! I think I just saw a BLACK squirrel!” I thought she was being funny until she told me she had never seen one before.

But as I say, growing up here - most squirrels are black, with a few grey here and there. In fact, if you go to wikipedia and look up black squirrels, the photo they use is from Ottawa, Canada - where I live.

It’s thought that the black is the result of an abnormal pigment gene. Several theories have surfaced as to why the "black morph" occurs, with some suggesting that the black morph is a selective advantage for squirrels inhabiting the northern ranges of the species, with the black-fur providing a thermal advantage over its non-melanistic counterpart. (Black keeps you warmer)