A Cary, North Carolina, resident snapped a photo of a rare white squirrel this week — a photo that generated interest as many people who commented on the local news station’s Facebook page said they had never seen one of the creatures before.
"What a beautiful white squirrel. They are rare. I don’t think I have ever seen a white squirrel before. That one is so beautiful," one person commented.
"Absolutely amazing," another person said.
But about 272 miles to the west, white squirrel sightings are a common occurrence. In fact, a colony of more than 1,000 white squirrels inhabit the town of Brevard, which has a population of 7,755 humans, according to Katy Rosenberg, director of the town’s White Squirrel Institute.
Rosenberg said Brevard likely has the largest colony of white squirrels in the U.S.
"This is the first time I’ve heard of a white squirrel being seen in Cary," Rosenberg said. "Though they are rare, colonies of them are popping up in other areas and other states. We’ve seen them in Florida, South Carolina, and Michigan."
Rosenberg said the sightings could be the result of people capturing the unusual squirrels and taking them to another location.
"I get phone calls all the time about people wanting to buy a white squirrel so they could breed and sell them, and that’s obviously not what we do," Rosenberg said.
In Brevard, that would be illegal.
In 1986, the Brevard City Council voted to approve an ordinance declaring and establishing a sanctuary for squirrels, especially the white ones, stating that it "shall be unlawful for any person to hunt, kill, trap, or otherwise take any protected squirrels within the city from this section," according to the City of Brevard's official webpage about white squirrels.
The white squirrels found in Brevard are a color variant of the native species, the eastern gray squirrel, according to Rosenberg and the city's website.
The Brevard white squirrels aren’t albino, but rather leucistic, which is a condition characterized by a lack of pigmentation from a recessive gene, the City of Brevard website states.
They are unique in that their coats are mostly white with a distinctive head patch of dark fur — and they have dark eyes. "Biologists recognize no known species of all-white squirrels in the world," the city's website reads.
But Rosenberg said they otherwise behave just the same as gray squirrels – gathering acorns, making nests, and raising their young.
"They do all the squirrel stuff," Rosenberg said.
"They mix and mingle with our gray squirrels. They don't see differently. People often ask if they get along with gray squirrels. It's about territory, not about color," she added.
The origin of the Brevard white squirrels goes back to a 1940s circus caravan accident from which the unique squirrels had escaped — and a 10-year-old girl named Barbara Mull, Rosenberg said.
"Her Uncle Harry brought them to her," Rosenberg said.
"He had a friend who had a pecan grove down there. Apparently, a circus had gone through the town and there was an accident. These white squirrels got loose," she added.
The white squirrels apparently found a tasty residence in the man’s pecan orchard, and Uncle Harry helped the man catch them, according to Rosenberg.
"The guy gave them to him, and then he came up to visit Mull in Brevard and gave her the squirrels," Rosenberg said.
The original squirrels' names were Snowball and Frisky, Rosenberg said.
She explained that the squirrels ended up getting loose again after Mull’s family moved and started reproducing with the local squirrels.
Rosenberg said the town continues to celebrate and honor the distinguished white squirrels with a big festival in May and other fundraisers.
Pisgah Penny, Brevard’s official white squirrel ambassador, makes an appearance at all the events, Rosenberg added.
On Feb. 2, the ambassador squirrel also helps Punxsutawney Phil predict whether there will be an early or late spring — and, as an added bonus, what team will win the upcoming Super Bowl.
"[Penny’s] predecessor and her uncle actually, Pisgah Pete, had an 85% success rate predicting the winner of the Super Bowl," Rosenberg said.
"Penny didn’t do so well with the prediction this year," she added.
The White Squirrel Institute was founded in 1997 by biology professor Robert Glesner as part of a student project at Brevard College.
The Institute was created to raise awareness, but also to boost tourism.
Since Rosenberg stepped into the role of director, the mission has shifted to raising money for conservation efforts, she said.
White squirrel "adoptions" can be made through the institute’s website www.whitesquirrelinstitute.org.