Black Squirrel vs. Brown Squirrel

[Detroitnerd]

Just throwing this out there. Has anybody noticed that the black squirrels are slowly moving over to the west side? Or are black squirrels only an east-side thing? It seems I've seen more and more black squirrels around Hamtramck recently. Or am I just nuts. [[Probably more likely!)

[jcole]

Growing up in Detroit, I don't ever remember seeing black squirrel at all. We moved to Almont in 73 and it seemed like that's all they had here. Now, I see brown with black tails, black with brown tails and plain of both varieties. I don't know what to make of it other than those damned squirrels have abandoned the city, too.

[texorama]

I have noticed that the black ones are moving west. You even see the black ones in Ann Arbor occasionally. Susan Watson in the old Free Press once wrote a marvelous column about how Woodward was the dividing line between the black ones and the orange ones. She didn't mention racial segregation once, but it was clear that that was what she was talking about. However, as with the other boundaries in the metro area, this one seems to be breaking down somewhat.

[gazhekwe]

We have lots of black squirrel here near Ten and Southfield. They are actually phases of the other squirrels. I think we have black phases of common gray, fox and red squirrels. Several of the black squirrels have red tails. We also have the regular red, gray and fox squirrels. I think it is squirrel heaven over here.

[preserve]

We've had black squirrels in Corktown for at least 20 years.
This year's crop seems more diverse than ever. We've got black, grey, brown, grey striped. Tons of them. I think they
are all in my bird feeders. I know they get into the attic and
leave a mess, east through cardboard, mess up the throw rugs, Don't know how to get rid of them.

[Bobl]

We would only see the black squirrels on the far east side and Grosse Pointes when I was young. Now, they are seen everywhere. I see some that appear to have characteristics of both the black and brown ones in my neighborhood, but the brown ones, that were once most predominant, are becoming fewer.
Any biologists/zoologists out there, who might explain the origins of both?

One rascal has gotten more tomato snacks than we have from our plant this year...even after we sprinkled cayenne pepper on the vine, which has discouraged squirrels in the past.

[iheartthed]

I talked about this with some friends last weekend who are also transplants to NYC from the Detroit area. I don't remember ever seeing a black squirrel west of Woodward before I went to college. Now when I visit I see them all over northwest Detroit and in the northwest burbs.

[Pam]

http://www.michigandnr.com/publicati.../Squirrels.htm

There are six species of squirrels in Michigan. The red and eastern gray squirrels can be found in both Michigan Peninsulas, whereas the southern flying, and eastern fox reside only in the Lower Peninsula. Lastly, the northern flying squirrel can found in the northern Lower Peninsula and entire Upper Peninsula

Black squirrels are simply melanistic phases of the gray squirrels. The two commonly interbreed and litters may contain both color types

[EMG]

We would only see the black squirrels on the far east side and Grosse Pointes when I was young.

That is exactly the situation that I remember, all the way from growing up in the 1960's through leaving Michigan for good in 2002. I lived in eastside Detroit through through the 80's and Grosse Pointe Woods after that, and with only very few exceptions on either side, remember seeing just about all brown squirrels in Detroit and just about all black squirrels in the Pointes.

[ASR89]

There are a lot of black squirrels on the east side of Wayne and the far south and eastern sides of Westland. I've lived in Westland my entire life and only ever saw brown ones. When I went to Wayne Memorial High School, I saw black-haired ones on a normal basis.

[Detroitnerd]

I had no idea they could interbreed. How fascinating!

[exdetroiter]

The black squirrels seem to dominate Oak Park. The black squirrels seem to be more daring than the brown squirrel. I notice how they run right up toward your tire or stop in alignment with your tire. Each time I catch my breath and close my eyes in fear of having hit one, then I look through my rear view mirror and they made it across or back, nonetheless there not road kill.

[EastsideAl]

We always had mostly black squirrels in the Indian Village area, with only a smattering of other colors.

[Trumpeteer]

Just throwing this out there. Has anybody noticed that the black squirrels are slowly moving over to the west side? Or are black squirrels only an east-side thing? It seems I've seen more and more black squirrels around Hamtramck recently. Or am I just nuts. [[Probably more likely!)

Just saw a news bulletin that talked about "White Squirrel Flight" as thousands of White Squirrels are fleeing in sheer panic over the movement of Black Squirrels into their turf.

[Detroitnerd]

I have noticed that of the flattened squirrels I've seen in Hamtramck this month, none was black. Maybe they're spryer?

[jcole]

Maybe the brown ones are all just committing squirrelicide.

[janesback]

Preserve stated "leave a mess, east through cardboard, mess up the throw rugs, Don't know how to get rid of them. "

Preserve

Try moth balls. I had unwanted racoons and squirrels about 10 years ago. I used a trap and attempted to remove them, but they kept coming back

I was told to try moth balls,and sure enough, they left within 3 days........its cheap too, no need to use a critter control agency........Jane

[Detroitnerd]

That's nuts.

[msamslex]

I've seen one black squirrel runnning around my street and never see more than the one. I'm in Aviation sub, Tireman/Wyoming area.

Always saw them down in Lafayette Park while visiting relatives who live in the area.

[rajdet]

I am so glad you posted this, I have lived in Detroit for a very long time and mostly on the west side. I lived on the east side for a few years in the late 80's, and that's when I first saw a black squirrel. I have been living right on the east west border for the last 15 years and the area was populated exclusively with brown squirrels but somewhere about 10 years ago I began noticing the rise in black squirrel population. Now if I see a brown squirrel I pray it makes it back to the far west side before night fall.

[MizMotown]

When I lived in Ferndale I seen the black squirrels all over the place. I worked across the street in detroit. Never seen one for 15 years until just within the past year or so. He made his way over from Ferndale. Squittish, nervous little suckers, the black squirrels.

[Big Dog]

When I was younger, and I am old. Squirrels actually hibernated in Detroit. You would never see one in the winter. Now, they do not hibernate and you see them all winter long. Lot of Geese also stay all winter. Back then you never saw any in the winter. Global warming?

[BillyBBrew]

When people from the suburbs ask me why I moved out of SW Detroit, I always tell them "because the blacks were moving in" and they get all shocked and indignant. Then I explain that the neighborhood just isn't the same since the black squirrels moved over from the east side. It's fun to see their reactions. Ironically when I moved, I moved to the east side, so I guess no squirrel prejudice here....

[12468_laing]

I grew up on Laing and left Detroit in 82. Growning up all we saw were brown squirrels - only saw black ones at Balduck. When I last was up in Detroit in 2003, all I saw there were the black ones.

[Gistok]

The urban legend that we heard as kids growing up near Balduck Park on the far east side... was that when Edsel & Eleanor Ford built their Grosse Pointe Shores Gaukler Pointe estate in the 1920s, they imported a lot of materials from England in order to make their Cotswold style house appear authentically English. And among the imports were black squirrels.

Has anyone else ever heard this story?