Whats the story behind Glendales black squirrels?
Thomas Carruthers III, a Glendale businessman, brought two pairs of black squirrels to the village from the resort town of Harbor Springs, Mich., in the 1940s, says his son, Tom Carruthers IV. “He just thought it’d be fun to bring them down here,” he says. Within two weeks, one was shot and its pelt hung up at what is now the Glendale Gaslight Cafe, Carruthers says. Evidently, some combination of the other three went forth and multiplied. Black squirrels are Eastern gray squirrels that have a genetic variation called melanism, says Thane Maynard, vice president of the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. Melanism is the opposite of the rarer condition of albinism, which is the lack of pigment, he says. Black squirrels and gray squirrels can interbreed, and contrary to popular Glendale belief, melanism is a recessive trait, Maynard says. Black squirrels can be found in other areas of the country, including northern Michigan; Council Bluffs, Iowa; Marysville, Kan.; and Kent, Ohio, accordin
Thomas Carruthers III, a Glendale businessman, brought two pairs of black squirrels to the village from the resort town of Harbor Springs, Mich., in the 1940s, says his son, Tom Carruthers IV. “He just thought it’d be fun to bring them down here,” he says. Within two weeks, one was shot and its pelt hung up at what is now the Glendale Gaslight Cafe, Carruthers says. Evidently, some combination of the other three went forth and multiplied. Black squirrels are Eastern gray squirrels that have a genetic variation called melanism, says Thane Maynard, vice president of the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. Melanism is the opposite of the rarer condition of albinism, which is the lack of pigment, he says. Black squirrels and gray squirrels can interbreed, and contrary to popular Glendale belief, melanism is a recessive trait, Maynard says. Black squirrels can be found in other areas of the country, including northern Michigan; Council Bluffs, Iowa; Marysville, Kan.; and Kent, Ohio, accordin
