Are all Richardsons ground squirrels the same colour?
Albino (pure white fur, white claws, red eyes) and melanistic (completely black) Richardson’s ground squirrels are occasionally produced. These unusual colours are due to recessive genes. The survival rate of these two colour variants in nature is probably very low, due to their increased conspicuousness and, for albinos, poor eyesight. For further information, see Species Description.
