9/16/2023 0 Comments Squirrel acorn drawing![]() ![]() niger rather than a separate species (Lueninghoener 1973, page 2). ![]() auduboni) before later being recognized as only a melanistic form of S. The "black squirrel" was initially identified/named in Audubon's honor (S. Joseph Missouri, and continuing to observe them up until "Council Bluffs" (just north of Missouri Valley, Iowa.north of present-day Council Bluffs across the Missouri River from Omaha, NE). 3090 ) notes that Audubon provided an accurate description of melanistic/'black' fox squirrels in his Missouri River Journals (1843), having first observed them near St. Lueninghoener (Lueninghoener, Edward W., "An investigation of the melanistic phase of the Western Fox squirrel (Sciurus niger rufiventer) in Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa" (1973). Andrew Saunders (Fontenelle Forest Association printing 1985), page 28.Īudubon's "Black Squirrel" (Sciurus niger) from his "Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America" (1845) ( ). Mammals of Fontenelle Forest and Neale Woods, D. The same is true for litters produced by parents of the two color phases." Individuals tend to be either all black or completely orange rarely is one reported that is a mixture of the two. They may represent the only population of fox squirrels in North America in which melanism is common and it is not a recent phenomenon because Audubon encountered them during his travels up the Missouri River Valley in the mid-1800s. ![]() During the past decade, black fox squirrels have spread north and west into Omaha, and now occur to some extent in all areas where previously they were absent. "At least one color variant is common in the Omaha-Council Bluffs area, a melanistic phase, which is more abundant in urban neighborhoods than the rural countryside. Andrew "Andy" Saunders included this in his 1985 book on mammals of Fontenelle Forest: ![]() Though little is known about Fairbury and Hastings, the Fremont population is supposed to have descended from black phase squirrels imported from Council Bluffs."įormer Fontenelle Forest Chief Naturalist D. The above probably explains the populations in three central Nebraska towns, Fremont, Fairbury, and Hastings. The conservation officer at Onawa, Iowa stated that black squirrels had bene imported from Council Bluffs, but so far the stocking had proven unsuccessful. The conservation officer in Council Bluffs knew of many instances where black squirrels were trapped and relocated. "There is a good chance that imported black phase individuals have altered the population distribution in. Wilson refers to Lueninghoener, who explains: I've been able to find few details on this perhaps others will share some in the comments. Wilson also discusses the hypothesis of a thermal benefit of black/dark melanism in this species, a hypothesis discussed by Lueninghoener as well.Īnother interesting issue is the role of human importation/relocation, what Wilson refers to as "citizen relocations" (= not part of any organized wildlife management policy). The existence/expansion of large canopy trees appears to be a key factor in determining melanistic squirrel distribution. ), concluding that the proportion of melanistic squirrels in the Omaha and Council Bluffs, IA metro areas had expanded in the 40 years since Lueninghoener's survey/study. In this 2013 paper, Wilson updates and expands upon a previous study/survey of melanistic squirrels by Lueninghoener (Lueninghoener, Edward W., "An investigation of the melanistic phase of the Western Fox squirrel (Sciurus niger rufiventer) in Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa" (1973). “Westward Expansion of Melanistic Fox Squirrels (Sciurus Niger) in Omaha, Nebraska.” American Midland Naturalist, vol. Wilson is interviewed in this article about ongoing research into these melanistic variants:, and published the 2013 paper below discussing their westward expansion out of their historic range along the Missouri River/eastern Nebraska. James Wilson, all of the melanistic/black squirrels in Nebraska are Fox squirrels (S. ![]()
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