There are two kinds of tree squirrels in Oklahoma – the fox squirrel and the eastern gray squirrel. The fox squirrel is the larger of the two. In fact, it is the largest tree squirrel in North America. I say tree squirrel because ground squirrels, like groundhogs and prairie dogs, are much larger.
The fox squirrel is the one we see most often. It spends much of its time on the ground foraging for acorns, nuts and other food. The gray squirrel tends to be arboreal and stays up in the trees. The gray squirrel is found in the eastern and midwestern United States, including eastern Oklahoma. The fox squirrel’s distribution is similar but extends to the western edge of Oklahoma. Both nest in tree hollows, but they also build leaf nests in the branches.
The fox squirrel we have is brownish gray above and rust below. I’ve seen fox squirrels in the southeastern coastal plain of the United States that were black or sandy. The gray squirrel is gray above and whitish below.
One summer, we had a “blond” fox squirrel along our driveway. Blond is the name given to this unusual color. It’s actually a leucistic squirrel. Leucism is a defect in the development of the pigment cells.
Animals that are leucistic have normal-colored eyes and have some pigment in their skin, hair or feathers. The color is often patchy and called “piebald.” We saw it for only one summer. I suspect its light color may have made it a target for predators. The other white animal or bird is an albino. Albinism is a genetic mutation in which the melanin gene, responsible for skin, hair and eye color, is absent. The individual is white except for the eyes, which are pink because they lack pigment.
