Thursday 19 November 2020

Albino Squirrel in North Merchiston Cemetery

We were delighted to see this albino squirrel in North Merchiston Cemetery today! We watched it scampering around the trees and gravestones for quite a while! It seemed quite tame and certainly happy to pose for the camera! This is the first time we've seen a white squirrel in the cemetery, though they're often seen in places not too far from there. 



Apparently albino and other white squirrels are commoner in Edinburgh than in most other places. Albino grey squirrels are entirely white and have pink eyes whereas other white squirrels are leucistic grey squirrels, and have brown eyes and may have patches of grey or brown on their bodies.



11 comments:

carol l mckenna said...

Wow! ~ Awesome photos of the albino squirrel ^_^

Live each moment with love,

A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)

Lee@A Guide to Northeastern Gardening said...

I've never seen an albino squirrel. We have the eastern grey squirrels here so this is a first! Thanks for sharing!

eileeninmd said...

Hello,

What a cool sighting of the Albino Squirrel! I see the Black Squirrels and Gray Squirrels here. Take care, enjoy your day!

betty-NZ said...

That's a fabulous surprise and a poser, too!
If you leave your link in the comments or email to me, I'd be happy to put it in the My Corner of the World linkup :

Jeff said...

Very neat (but are you sure it's not the ghost of a squirrel?)

https://fromarockyhillside.com

Rambling Woods said...

Oh wow...doesn’t provide much camouflage

RG said...

Nice ..

Crafty Green Poet said...

Carol - thanks!

Lee - Our grey squirrels are the same as one of the American species of grey squirrel - they were introduced here. So this may be an albino individual of the same grey species you see...

Eileen - I've never seen a black squirrel!

Thanks Betty, I'll leave the link in the comments then!

Jeff - it's dressed for Hallowe'en

Rambling Woods - I know, but they thrive in Edinburgh for some reason, despite all the predators (plenty of buzzards and stoats around that eat squirrels)

Lowcarb team member said...

What a lovely collection of photographs, wonderful to see this albino squirrel.

All the best Jan

Kevin McGuire said...

I live in White Park, which is the other side of the railway track next to the cemetery, and I saw the white squirrel a couple of times in our garden at the end of 2020. We also saw a white squirrel a few years ago behind the special school on Gorgie Road, which was possibly the same one unless there are a few of them in the area.

Crafty Green Poet said...

Hi Kevin, there are several white squirrels in Edinburgh!