Question about rare squirrels

[agreendream]

Hi all, today we saw at the East Dulwich train station two odd squirrels.

I took photo's and after checking on line it seems there Sciurus niger or Fox Squirrels.

But there is nothing on line to say they exist in the UK.

Any ideas??

Chris

[????]

Medium rare for me

[DulwichFox]

Sciurus vulgaris. Sciurus carolinensis is the grey squirrel which was introduced into the UK,

sciurus niger is the fox squirrel (or Eastern fox squirrel) which can be found in Texas, and sciurus igniventris is the Northern Amazon red squirrel.

Source.

Fox.

[Burbage]

Not fox squirrels, but grey squirrels that aren't.

There's a project about them (www.blacksquirrelproject.org), where you can report sightings if you feel the need.

[agreendream]

The pair in question are sciurus niger.

Will try and post some shots later.

[The Minkey]

Grey squirrels can carry a fair amount of reddish colouring. Of the several we used to get in the garden last year, one was distinctly gingerish, especially the tail which looked very orange with the sun shining through it.

[El Pibe]

I lived a while in Letchworth, the town where the black squirrel was introduced about a century ago (to stock Norton Common, the big park outside the centre of town).

They are a pretty common sight there and a source of pride for the locals, there was even a pub named after them until recently.

Apart from the colouring they are basically identical to your grey squirrel.

THey have been spreading farther afield and are now a pretty common sight in the likes of Stotfold and stevenage.

I'd be amazed if there were any down here, though I guess if any have made it as far as Flitwick they could have hitched a ride on a train to Denmark Hill. That'd be pretty amazing though!