squirrel integration

Imagine my surprise to see a black squirrel when we first moved into this neighborhood.

Grey squirrels - check.

Red squirrels - check.

Black squirrels? Ok, then. . . . check 'im out!

I promptly called him Zorro. Only to discover that my favorite neighbor calls him the same.

Over the past 2 years, Zorro has been joined by wife Zelda, and offspring Zero. The above looks like Zero. He's a little 'dustier' looking than the brilliant black of Zorro. . . .

I understand from this article that the black coloration stems from squirrels from Canada released by the Smithsonian in the early 1900's. . . . Go figure.

They seem to get along just fine with the grey squirrels, but they stick to themselves. Real loners.

I'm prejudiced: I think they're way cool. . . . much handsomer than the usual grey guys.

But there's room enough for them all. Meanwhile, the Z-gang tend to stick to the brick-walled garden of the mansion across the street. They don't seem to want to have anything to do with the likes of us common folk. . . . Hmmm. Reverse discrimination?