I had been reading about the white squirrels of Olney, Illinois for a while now and finally made a trip out to see them for myself on Saturday. Several other towns in the US proudly proclaim their resident white squirrels, but none seem to advertise the fact as aggressively as Olney. In fact, the masthead on the town’s official website includes a little circular logo with a white squirrel’s head and the slogan “Home of the White Squirrels.” The same slogan is seen on the sign that welcomes you to town. And on the side of police cars. And on bumper stickers in shop windows. And on signage all over the city park. At first I was skeptical of the hype as I could only find the regular gray guys — but then I finally saw a white one foraging in a resident’s front yard in all its colorless glory. I would eventually see six or so more before leaving town the next morning. I was surprised at how skittish the squirrels were, making it difficult to get shots, but then again maybe that’s because I live in New York where in Union Square they’ll gladly crawl onto your lap if you let them. After hanging around for long enough under a tree in Olney’s City Park, I got the squirrel in these two photos to feel comfortable enough to go about his business while I went about mine. He would repeatedly come down to the ground to grab an acorn before running back up the tree to eat it. There are about 200 white squirrels in Olney — actually albino variants of the common gray squirrel.
11 Comments
haha awesome! so adorable!
They look like a variation on your standard issue bunny rabbit……but with shorter ears and longer tails…..and longer nails, but white and pink nonetheless……
You aren’t kidding he got comfortable enought to go about his business. In that second shot I can see his business!
hahaha thats what i was thinking too!
There used to be solid black squirrels in Madison Square Park (usually at our end of the park) but I haven’t seen one in years.
hahahaha. that is really cool. did you get any shots of the bumper stickers and signs?!!
Nice to see that your trip was successful!
Hey Shardae, yes, I took shots of all the signage. Always try to get that stuff even though I never post it.
Lisa, I used to have the black ones living in my yard in Michigan. I had never seen them before going to Detroit for the first time but I’ve heard they’re also in New York in certain areas.
The squirrels I grew up with in Illinois were always more skittish as well, I think the city parks are the exception.
And I’d like to see the police cars—there’s something wonderfully Americana about that pride.
wow sean, love the ground level shot that’s a real winner. great color, light & composition, a true beauty!
Wow! Love the shots, Sean. Glad I’ve finally had a chance to look at the work.
Planning a photo trip to Yellowstone next winter. Would love to get your advice on making a trek that way.