{"id":428978,"date":"2026-01-23T22:44:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T22:44:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/428978\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T22:44:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T22:44:07","slug":"white-squirrel-lovingly-named-milk-is-turning-heads-in-halifax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/428978\/","title":{"rendered":"White squirrel, lovingly named ‘Milk,’ is turning heads in Halifax"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a post on social media, several Haligonians were taken with what appeared to be a white-coloured red squirrel<\/a>.<\/a><\/p>\n

In a Reddit thread, several people were posting photos of the creature, saying the squirrel lives in Frog Pond Park and is quite photogenic (if bribed). The photos show Milk\u2014what seemed to be the consensus name of the animal\u2014on rocks, trees and nibbling on nuts.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s causing quite a stir in the region as many have never seen a white squirrel.<\/p>\n

Paul Bentzen, a geneticist and professor in the department of biology at Dalhousie University, said Milk\u2019s fur colour is not extremely rare, but he has never encountered one before.<\/p>\n

After studying several photos of Milk on social media, Bentzen said he can confidently say there are two possible reasons, both genetic mutations, for why its fur is white.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll animals, including humans, produce a pigment called melanin,\u201d he told CityNews in an interview. \u201cAll mammals pretty much have this gene, but in red squirrels, it normally produces that reddish-brown colour.\u201d<\/p>\n

Milk could have a condition called albinism, which means it has two mutated copies of the gene that is responsible for making melanin. The gene can\u2019t make the pigment, so the coat will appear white, Bentzen said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith albinos, critically, you tend to also get pink eyes because our eyes have pigment in them as well, and that pigment is there to protect us from bright light,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

This might be fine for animals in captivity, like a domestic bunny, but it can be difficult for wild creatures, causing them to be extremely prone to sunburn. <\/p>\n

However, a more common and likely cause of Milk\u2019s appearance is a condition called leucism, which is also a mutation, but it\u2019s not linked to the gene making melanin.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a gene that affects where it gets laid down in the body, so basically, in leukistic animals, the mutation is stopping the melanin from being deposited in the fur,\u201d Bentzen said.<\/p>\n

The key to telling the difference is looking at the eyes, which, with leucism, will not be red. The condition is considered less serious, the professor said, because the eyes are not as sensitive.<\/p>\n

While Milk can seemingly live a normal life with its white fur, it can be a drawback.<\/p>\n

Hope Swinimer, founder and director of Hope for Wildlife, said in an email that white squirrels can attract attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir colouring makes them more visible, which can increase their vulnerability to predators,\u201d she said. \u201cHowever, if they reach adulthood, it often means they\u2019ve successfully adapted to their environment despite the odds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bentzen noted that it is possible Milk had siblings, but it is unlikely they would also be white, because two copies of the mutated gene are required for the condition to occur.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m thinking probably neither parent had the white colour, so they were each carrying only one copy of the gene, and what that tells a geneticist is that one in four of their babies would inherit two copies of the \u2018white\u2019 version of the gene,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The one in four number, of course, is just a probability, but with social media, it\u2019s likely people would have heard of another white squirrel in Halifax, he said.<\/p>\n

The creature in Frog Pond Park has become quite popular with Haligonians.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Milk\u2019 is certainly a memorable little squirrel,\u201d Swinimer said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a post on social media, several Haligonians were taken with what appeared to be a white-coloured red…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":428979,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[49,48,66,323],"class_list":["post-428978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=428978"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428978\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/428979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=428978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=428978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=428978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}