Lucky he doesn’t live in Iowa.
“Council Bluffs is the home of the rare black squirrel. It is illegal here to taunt, maim, kill, annoy or otherwise disturb a black squirrel, and there are legal penalties for those who do so”
from here:
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/4098
I was born in Omaha, NE, and raised in a suburb of that city that had a tremendous number of beautiful black walnut trees. Of course we also had a very large number of squirrels. And they were all red.
But, as your post notes, Council Bluffs, IA, just across the river, has black squirrels.
It’s very strange. I know the Missouri River is a pretty big obstacle, but squirrels are pretty resourceful about getting anywhere they want to go. I think they could cross the river pretty easily if they wanted to, especially considering the number of bridges that exist.
But for whatever reason, they stay in Council Bluffs.
By the way, everywhere else that I’m aware of in Iowa the squirrels are red. Except Council Bluffs. Even throughout the rest of the Loess Hills (in which CB is located), from St. Joseph, MO, all the way to Sioux City, IA, they’re red. It’s weird.