Have you ever seen a white squirrel? I haven’t so when I spotted one in the Company Gardens here in Cape Town I ended up stalking it for a while until I could capture it on film. At first I thought it could be a rat and got quite excited when I realized it was definitely a squirrel!!
The little fellow was quite shy and although its white contrasts with the trees he was quite difficult to capture. As soon as I got home I read up all about white and albino squirrels.
There are a few types of genetic aberrations that cause the white coats. The first is albinism, caused by a mutation on a gene that codes for pigmentation. Albinos have red eyes. The other is a white morph, caused by a different gene. It is a naturally occurring trait of eastern grey squirrels that is very, very rare.
I am sure that the white squirrel I came across today is an albino squirrel as its eyes were actually red. There goes my spotting of a super rare white squirrel.
It’s still somewhat rare to see a white squirrel as predators to squirrels such as hawks really like it when their prey is highlighted white!
There is actually an Albino Squirrel Preservation Society (ASPS) which is an international collegiate organization dedicated to “fostering compassion and goodwill” toward albino squirrels. The ASPS was founded in April 2001 at the University of Texas at Austin. The first ASPS chapter was created to celebrate a longstanding legend on campus, which states that seeing an albino squirrel before a test is good luck (although none of the white squirrels on campus were technically albino). In less than a year, the UT Austin chapter became one of the largest official student organizations in the University’s history.
Its good to know that someone out there are looking out for these little white creatures.
Janaline's world journey 
Dinkum, you were lucky. Whenever lately I got a chance to go to that garden it was inevitably – yes you guessed it – raining!
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Spring is on us and hopefully there will be many more lovely days ahead to explore the gardens.
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Very cute! And adorable it is.. Thank you for sharing This..
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Thank you! I never even knew they existed so couldnt wait to share these photos.
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Absolutely amazing, I’ve never seen an albino squirrel before and I guess is I probably never will. Thank you for sharing this it was terrific. 🙂
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Youre welcome Dom. You never know, you might just come across one someday.
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How curious!
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At first I thought it was a rat and only at closer inspection found it was a squirrel, so unexpected.
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I’ve never heard of albino squirrels before. Pretty!
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This was a first for me as well and definitely going to go back for some more photos later
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Very unique squirrel indeed! Thanks for sticking with him so long to share your find with all of us, Janaline 🙂
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Thank you, felt like a real stalker as I crawled around after him.
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There was a well known white squirrel that lived near Dorking in Surrey. It was sadly run over a couple of years ago and the story made the papers as the squirrel was almost a local celebrity!
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Ah shame! I do hope the people who take care of the Company Gardens here in Cape Town look after this little fellow.
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I hope there aren’t too many roads nearby!
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Snow White Squirrel from Company Gardens fairy tale!
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It is like something from a fairy tale, although his red eyes make him look a bit creepy he is still cute!
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Definitely an albino given those red eyes. Tbh he looks more like a rat than the grey ones do, possibly because you see white rats kept as pets. Not me though… [shudder]
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I agree with that, had to look twice as I thought at first it was a rat up in the tree. The red eyes make him look a bit creepy I think.
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aw love him 🙂 and glad the white ones have people to care too
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I agree, they are so cute and glad people care for these rare little creatures.
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I have never seen one other than your terrific photos! Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks Maril, this was my first as well. Think I will definitely go back to the park and see if I can find him again sometime, he is so sweet.
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The pictures of him doing acrobatics are great!
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Awesome! I’m glad you hunted it down to get these captures. I know that’s not easy and it takes a lot of patience. I’ve never seen an albino squirrel but would love to. Lovely shots!
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Thank you! The people in the park did look at me funny as I was crawling through the bushes looking like a stalker, but it was definitely worth it.
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Beautiful shots Janaline. I will probably not see one in my lifetime, nice to know they really exist. They are so cute!
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Thanks Bebs. They are sweet and as I have found out very rare so I count myself as very lucky that I got to see one up close and personal in the wild.
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wowsers! never seen one like that!
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He is definitely weird looking and the red eyes are very freaky.
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Soooo cute!! I’ve never seen a white squirrel before, didnt even know it existed 😀
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And to think there are societies set up for their protection!?
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Maybe thats why I’ve never seen one, they are rare!! Thats a great initiative to protect them, amazing!! 😀
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First time I have seen one.
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Was my first as well….and I just couldn’t believe it so had to get proof.
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This is amazing- and he’s so cute as well 🙂
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Thank you!! Took me a while to get good pictures of him as he is super shy
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I have never seen a white squirrel before, didn’t know they exist, and you captured it so well! Thanks for posting.
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This was my first time as well! Before seeing this little dude I would have thought white squirrels were a myth.
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So cute!
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He is although at first I did think it was a rat…
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