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Monday, March 3, 2008

White Albino Squirrel Captured on Film


Beautiful!

From the Gazettelive.co.uk
Hemlington & Colby Newham [I just love those British place names]
White albino squirrel captured by Hemlington photographer
Posted by Fiona - Administrator on March 3, 2008 2:07 PM

NO you’re not going nuts - it really is a white squirrel.

The cute looking albino animal was spotted by Gazette reader Darren Clark.

White albino squirrels are a rare sight, but Darren was lucky enough to see this one looking bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at Pinchinthorpe Woods near Guisborough.

Amateur photographer Darren, 36, of Hemlington, said: “It was just sat in a field. We thought it was a weasel or something else at first. Then when we followed it, it was straight up a tree.

“We spent about two hours trying to get a picture of it. I was quite surprised. It’s the first one I have ever seen. I’ve never heard of them before.”

Darren, who works as a geologist, added: “I do a lot of wildlife photography anyway.

“It was nice to see something different. It is the rarest thing I have seen. Everyone will be out there looking for it now!”

Darren researched his sighting and discovered that albino squirrels are “extremely rare”.

“They have got poor eyesight. I suppose this makes them easy prey for predators such as foxes and birds of prey.”

Although they are rare, it is not the first time they have been sighted locally.

An albino squirrel was photographed at Newton Wood, situated below Roseberry Topping, in April 2007.

As well as grey, red and albino, black squirrels can also be found in this country.

There is a significant colony of black squirrels in Letchworth Garden City, Herts, where a pub was even named after them.

Other all-white animals found in the UK have included an albino wallaby, spotted near Milton Keynes.
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An albino WALLABY? In England? Did it swim there from Australia, perchance, mate?

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