When strolling through the green patches of Central Park, the wooded corners of Harlem, or even the fringes of Brooklyn, you might catch a flash of slick black fur darting up a tree. It isn’t a raccoon. It’s a squirrel — but not just any squirrel. These are the intriguing black squirrels of New York, and there’s far more to them than meets the eye.
While most city-dwellers expect the familiar grey or brown-furred critters, the dark-coated squirrels carry a story rich in genetics, urban ecology, and local lore. In this deep-dive article, we’ll explore their origins, what makes them unique, how they thrive in the urban jungle of New York, and what their presence might reveal about broader ecological trends.
Understanding the Basics – Who are these black squirrels?
A color variant, not a separate species
The black squirrels seen around New York are not a distinct species. Rather, they represent a melanistic variation of the common Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis). Melanism is a genetic mutation that causes an overabundance of dark pigment in the fur, making the coat appear black.
Because of this, black-furred squirrels share most of their behavior, habitat preferences, diet, and even genetic lineage with the typical grey squirrels found across the city and state. What changes is their coloration — a change that, surprisingly, has ripple effects.
How rare are they?
In many regions they’re considered rare — some estimates suggest occurrences on the order of 1 in 10,000 individuals. According to one article, in parts of New York City, black squirrels are found but still markedly uncommon…