2020 Gumbo Final - Book - Page 54
The Phenomenom of
the Albino Squirrel
Story: Nick Frewin
photo: James Oubre and Albino Squirrel at LSU Facebook page
Design: Kacey Buercklin
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The legend lives on: LSU’s albino
squirrel still spotted around campus
alking around campus, it’s hard to miss the
squirrels that call LSU their home. But only
a few students spotted the “albino” squirrel
rumored to reside on campus.
“I must have seen the squirrel a few weeks
ago near Middleton,” sports administration
freshman Zach Jenkins said. “It was a lot
lighter than any other squirrel I’ve seen around
here.”
The lack of students who have seen the
squirrel in recent years made the albino
squirrel a myth to some.
“Nobody else I told about it had seen it
before,” Jenkins said.
According to Jonathan Nations, an
undergraduate student employed at the
LSU Museum of Natural Science, the squirrel
being described is actually considered to be
Isabelline colored, not albino.
A squirrel that has albinism wouldn’t produce
melanin anywhere on its body or eyes,
rendering it completely pale white, Nations
said. The “albino” squirrel some students see
around campus has a lighter fur coloring than
other squirrels, but has the same eye color as
a regular squirrel, causing Nations to deduce
that it is not an albino squirrel.
“This coloration is not a partially albinistic
variant, rather it is a type of pigment dilution
whereby there is substantial but not complete
reduction in melanin caused by genetic
mutation,” Nations said. “Isabelline dilution is
marked by a uniform reduction in melanin.
The result of this genetic mutation is an
individual that looks ‘washed out’,” according
to a 2012 study done by researchers on
Isabelline coloration in squirrels.
The incorrect identification of the squirrel
has occurred on campus since 2012 when
a Facebook group, “The Albino Squirrel At
LSU,” was created and featured a picture of
a squirrel that looks similar to the Isabelline
squirrel seen around campus recently.
The most common species of squirrel on
campus, the eastern gray squirrel, usually has
a lifespan of 15-20 years. However, a squirrel
with a lighter pigment could have a shorter
lifespan than average, according to Nations.
Another species of squirrel that is common
in Louisiana is a fox squirrel, which Nations
believes is the species of squirrel that the
Isabelline squirrel seen around campus is.
One problem the Isabelline squirrel could face
on campus is increased risk of predators due
to its more visible fur tone.
“It would probably, for a full albino squirrel,
be more susceptible to predators, like owls
and things like that, just because they are so
visible,” Nations said.
There may still be an albino squirrel that has
eluded the attention of students and staff
on campus, but it seemingly has been an
Isabelline squirrel that has been reported so
far.