Does anyone know where I can see a white squirrel? Is it just luck and they are not really more likely to be found in any place more than another, or is there somewhere that they are more likely to be? I've heard that there are white quirrels and albino, but I'm not sure if there really is a difference.
Also does anyone know how many there are? I would love to see one.
I have never heard of a white squirrel to be honest. Are they just grey squirelles which have lost the pigment colour in its fur, or are they actually white squirells?
I've never heard of truly white squirrels, only albino ones. Do white squirrels actually exist? If they do then I would definitely like to see one.
They are albino squirrels and I believe that Surrey and Sussex are the best areas to see them in. From what I understand they came to light there back in 2003 when one got knocked out of a tree by some kids playing football.
Ive seen a photo of one recently, i think it may have been in a newspaper article reporting on its death. It had become a bit of a local celebrity, sorry cant remember where and when!
They are freaky looking animals!
There was one that used to visit someones garden in Rochester Kent.
She saw it for a few months and then it disappeared, presumably it died.
Have myself seen a white sparrow amongst a flock of normal sparrows. This was quite by chance.
So it's probably down to luck if you do see albino animals in the world.
Link to a picture of a white giraffe, not the same as a squirrel I know but interesting:
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/white-giraffe937.html
That’s the one Goldfinch; thanks for the link.
Sadly I have never come across a white one but I have come across a few black ones in the past.
David
Not sure if this will work but here's a picture I took recently of two albino squirrels in a park near Crystal Palace, London. I couldn't believe there were two together, I thought i'd been lucky seeing one once before, luckily I had my camera phone with me - you'll have to zoom in to see any detail
That was very lucky! I've never seen one, to see two together and get a picture is great work
Is there actually a difference between "white" squirrels and albinos? I like others would automatically assume a white squirrel was albino,
After a bit of research, it seems that by far the place your most likely to see them is in Surrey (although I've never seen one in my time there) as they seem to be quite common. According to statistics on the internet the chance of an albino squirrel is about 1 in 100000 meaning that either there is a huge number of squirrels in Surrey or that there has been some sort of random change in one family that means they are more likely to be albino.
As for the difference between "white" and "albino", in a short time searching I couldn't see anywhere describing a white squireel that wasn't albino.