{"id":820507,"date":"2026-08-21T01:54:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T01:54:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/820507\/"},"modified":"2026-08-21T01:54:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T01:54:10","slug":"black-squirrels-are-supposed-to-be-rare-so-why-does-michigan-have-so-many","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/820507\/","title":{"rendered":"Black squirrels are supposed to be rare. So why does Michigan have so many?"},"content":{"rendered":"

DETROIT \u2013 Black squirrels are estimated to be one in 10,000. <\/p>\n

So why does it feel like every other squirrel in Michigan looks dressed for Halloween?<\/p>\n

Seriously, studies say more than half of the squirrels in Michigan are black<\/a>. That\u2019s not normal. They\u2019re so common here that they have broken into multiple coworkers\u2019 homes<\/a> and have interrupted multiple Tigers games.<\/p>\n

—> That\u2019s nuts! Check out video of a squirrel running around Kimberly Gill\u2019s home<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a different species<\/a>. They\u2019re eastern gray squirrels<\/a> with a mutation that causes their bodies to produce more dark pigment.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re found primarily around the Great Lakes, with the highest numbers in Michigan and Ontario.<\/p>\n

The mutation involves the MC1R gene<\/a> and can result in that jet-black coat. And for some reason, that reverse albino mutation seems to be beneficial to squirrels in Michigan.<\/p>\n

Scientists think the dark fur may help them absorb more heat during Michigan\u2019s harsh winters. It may also provide better camouflage from predators at night.<\/p>\n

And because black squirrels stand out more during the day, they\u2019re more visible to drivers and less likely to become roadkill.<\/p>\n

And while folklore has linked them to magic and prophecy<\/a>, science points to something more straightforward: genetics. Michigan\u2019s climate and environment may simply be an ideal setting for that gene to flourish.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DETROIT \u2013 Black squirrels are estimated to be one in 10,000. So why does it feel like every…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":820508,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[1303,321205,79,29578,201],"class_list":["post-820507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-michigan","tag-michigan-wildlife","tag-science","tag-squirrels","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=820507"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820507\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/820508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=820507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=820507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=820507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}