The black squirrels’ story
Brook Van Ham, Contributor
Eastern grey squirrels have had a journey to the prominent role they now hold in Calgary. Beginning with an unexpected escape from the zoo, developing with a melanistic variant, leading to the bushy black creatures found all over the city today.
Cargo to cages to city streets
Tom Baines, the Calgary Zoo’s first curator, brought the eastern grey squirrels as an attraction in the 1920s. This squirrel is native to eastern North America, but has been widely introduced elsewhere.
Eastern grey squirrels are considered some of the most invasive species in the world.
The squirrels escaped by the 1930s, marking the beginning of their urban population in Calgary.
This squirrel favours deciduous trees as well as evergreens, but it thrives in urban environments, often with access to many of its necessities.
Genius genes?
Most of these squirrels in Calgary are black, carrying the mutant gene found in eastern grey squirrels. Although the gene is random, in Calgary’s cold winters, a darker coat would retain more heat. The black colouring also offers better camouflage in an urban environment.
Melanism is common in the eastern grey squirrel species; it has been reported especially in the North.
The impact on Calgary
Erik Johnson, founder of Grove Eco-friendly Pest Control, weighed in on the number of squirrels they are evicting from client homes.
“Around 80 per cent are eastern grey squirrels, and the other 20 per cent are other types of squirrels,” says Johnson. This type of squirrel is physically much larger than other squirrels in Calgary, contributing to the dominance of the eastern grey.
The squirrels do well here. However, native squirrels, red squirrels and ground squirrels, may compete with the eastern grey squirrel for food, territory, and shelter.
These squirrels can damage infrastructure, homes, and gardens.
When it comes to removing squirrels, the most humane method is to block all entry points and install a one-way door, so that the squirrels can get out but not back in.
This time of year and moving forward, getting rid of squirrels can leave them without enough food for winter and proper shelter. As squirrels do not fully hibernate, they use their shelter to store food to get through the winter and to stay sheltered during extreme weather.
Squirrels are high-anxiety and do very poorly with trapping and relocation. In cages, they often harm themselves from running around and then continue to run in search of their familiar home, resources, and shelter after relocation.
“They are not going to be like, ‘oh, I guess this is my new home,’ they just keep trying to find their way back home all the time,” says Johnson.
Squirrel importance
This critter tends to get overlooked; many forget the reasons squirrels benefit our environment and daily lives. They are a part of the food web; they are prey species for many predators and help cycle nutrients by collecting pine cones, among other beneficial habits.
Also, squirrel watching can be quite entertaining.
What stops the spread?
For as invasive as the eastern grey squirrel is, it is surprising that many nearby areas have none.
“They don’t do that well in the prairies, where there are no trees,” says Johnson.
Johnson reminded that feeding squirrels will always lead to negative outcomes. Forming negative associations between humans and squirrels not only reinforces bad behaviours but also artificially increases the area’s squirrel population.
For concerned homeowners, ensure your house is well sealed, trim nearby branches, and stay aware of what is around your home.
Scope out the squirrels
In Calgary, this squirrel has become an icon for many, especially visitors who have never seen black squirrels before. With Halloween approaching, they could serve as a fun representation for the season.
“The more old trees in the area, the more squirrels there’s going to be,” says Johnson.
These squirrels can be seen throughout Calgary but are more common in tree-covered areas.
Currently, places such as Fish Creek Provincial Park and Weaselhead Flats Natural Environment Park have dense squirrel populations.
The eastern grey squirrel population in Calgary may be descended from zoo escapees, but these furry creatures now play a definite role in the city, and there are no concerns about them remaining in the area.
However, as time passes, it is possible that random melanistic variants could take a Charles Darwin turn, leaning into the benefits of a dark coat in the Calgary area.
Eastern grey squirrels escaped the Calgary Zoo in the
1930s, they are now seen all over Calgary. Photo by Serena
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