Unusual squirrels

Gray squirrel

Gray squirrel

Kelly Carver, Consolidated Cooperative

Q. Hi, Chip. I’ve lived in Richland County for 40 years, and the past few years have had many squirrels visiting my yard that have white ears and white tail tips. What is the story about these really cute squirrels?

A. You stumped me on this one, Kelly, so I contacted Katie Dennison, a wildlife biologist with the Ohio Division of Wildlife, for her take on your squirrel situation. Here’s her answer:

“This is an interesting one! Without pictures, my first instinct would be that these are gray squirrels. White on the back of the ears is common for gray squirrels. While white tail tips are not the norm, gray squirrels do have many color variations, and because these variations are tied to genetics you’ll often see “clusters” of unique colorations like this in certain areas. They could also be fox squirrels, which also have many color variations — but my first thought is grays because of the white on the ears.”