Why Are There So Many Black Squirrels?

Scientists believe that male fox squirrels passed the defective pigment genes to their offspring through interspecies mating with gray eastern squirrels. At least, that was the result of a 2019 study.

Why are black squirrels becoming more common?

Reintroduction programs. Several populations of black morph squirrels were the result of reintroduction/re-population programs intended to reintroduce the species and/or the black morph to areas they once inhabited, but had been wiped out by human hunting and predators in previous centuries.

Is seeing a black squirrel rare?

Biologists estimate that the black squirrel is unusually rare with only one squirrel in 10,000 wearing the dusky coat. This mutant of the gray squirrel resides primarily in northern climates.