I saw something horrible today. At first I thought it might be a squirrel ghost coming back to haunt me (squirrel kill count is at 54) but then I remembered a conversation I had with a coworker about white squirrels in the Brevard, North Carolina area. I'm up here working and I saw one of the little guys while I was driving through town.
The story goes that these squirrels were accidentally introduced to the wild after a carnival truck overturned in the area back in the 1950's. The squirrels got out and the rest is history. The folks here love them. In fact, in 1986 the city passed an ordinance that states this:
"The entire area embraced within the corporate limits of the city is hereby designated as a santuary for all species of squirrel ( family Sciuriadae), and in particular the ' Brevard White Squirrel'. It shall be unlawful for any person to hunt, kill, trap, or otherwise take protected squirrels within the city."
I hope they know what they've gotten themselves into...
Don't believe me? Here are some links.
Brevard White Squirrel Festival
White Squirrel Research Institute
History of the White Squirrel
