August 26, 2011

Black Squirrels in DC due to conservation efforts 100 years ago


Apparantly, in 1889 the grey squirrel was an endangered species in Washington DC, due to overhunting. They began a rehabilitation/breed/release program in the city, which has clearly done well. However, since the current population started from such a small population, the genepool is thickly filled with dark-fur genotypes. Hence, these normally rare black-colored Grey Squirrels, are in relative abundance in DC. Cute!





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