The white squirrels of Brevard, North Carolina, are showing up elsewhere in the Blue Ridge region.
The story goes that back in the 1940s, a couple of rare white squirrels escaped from an overturned carnival truck in Florida and were later brought to Brevard, North Carolina, where they started reproducing. Today, says Katy Rosenberg, director of the Brevard-based White Squirrel Institute, “The last count, which was a long time ago, was about 1,000 white squirrels, which is a big population. And now it’s spreading out into the county and surrounding counties.
“They’re all over the place,” Rosenberg adds. “I have probably six of them living on our road, and I’m outside city limits.”
Contrary to what some people assume, Brevard’s white squirrels aren’t albino—those are solid white, with pink or blue eyes—but a color variant of the common gray species with a condition called leucism, a partial lack of pigmentation that generally leaves them with gray patches and stripes on their mostly-white bodies.
Over the years, they’ve played an important role in this quaint mountain area. In 1986, an official ordinance established a safe sanctuary for squirrels, especially the less common white ones; a decade later, Brevard College biology professor Robert Glesener encouraged his students to start an independent study of the frisky mammals. The latter led to the community’s first white squirrel count, along with a push to “adopt” them to raise money for more studies and the opening of the White Squirrel Institute to oversee the efforts.
A graphic designer and animal lover who helped build the city’s shelters, Rosenberg came on board six years ago and the focus of the WSI shifted to wildlife rehabilitation and conservation. The Institute provides financial assistance to local licensed rescuers who save not just squirrels, but birds, possums and other critters.
The economic impact of the white squirrels is hard to overlook. “The No. 1 question that gets asked at the visitor center is, ‘Where can we see a white squirrel?’ People come from all over to see our white squirrels,” Rosenberg says.
Some of the best places to spot them, she notes, are Brevard College, the Kings Creek neighborhood, the visitor center on Main Street, Camp Illahee and College Walk senior living community. She often hears about sightings in South Carolina, Washington, D.C., and even Alaska.
“I get a lot of phone calls from people who want me to give them a white squirrel so they can populate their neighborhood. That’s not allowed.”
White squirrel enthusiasts can, however, publicly celebrate the furry critters in Brevard at least twice a year. White Squirrel Day, which has usurped Groundhog Dog on February 2, features weather prognosticator Pisgah Penny, a white squirrel who in 2022 replaced longtime town mascot Pisgah Pete after he passed away. And White Squirrel Weekend, held after Memorial Day each year, offers lots of live music and family fun.
Rosenberg is hoping to revive the annual white squirrel count that used to be held in conjunction with Brevard College. In the meantime, she’s on a mission to help others appreciate squirrels—all squirrels—and their habitats.
“We had an awful lot of rescues [last] summer, especially babies. So I caution, and this goes for all wild animals, but particularly for our white squirrels: Before you start cutting down trees, look up and see if you see a squirrel nest. A lot of the big rescues happened because their trees were cut down. The young are tiny, and I don’t think people are aware that those big nests sitting up in the trees are squirrel nests, not bird nests. Just be mindful of your environment and be a good steward.”
For info about the 2023 White Squirrel Weekend, see whitesquirrelinstitute.org.
The story above first appeared in our March / April 2023 issue. For more like it subscribe today or log in with your active BRC+ Membership. Thank you for your support!