2013 Northeastern Naturalist Notes Vol. 20, No. 4
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J. Ferron and P. Laplante
Report of an Albino Red Squirrel from Sainte-Luce, Quebec,
Canada
Jean Ferron1,* and Pierre Laplante2
Abstract - We report the observation of an albino male Tamiasciurus hudsonicus (Red Squirrel)
from Sainte-Luce in eastern Quebec, Canada. While occurrences of entirely albino individuals have
been sporadically reported in the wild in other sciurid species, true albinism is rare in T. hudsonicus.
That albino sciurids can survive in the wild may be related to their relatively minor visual deficits
compared to other albino mammals, which experience a greater loss of vision. The lack of pigmentation,
however, may be a major disadvantage in the wild for the Red Squirrel, which is a diurnal and
arboreal prey species. In conjunction with the recessive nature of albinism, it is not surprising that
albino individuals are rarely reported for this species.
Tamiasciurus hudsonicus Erxleben (Red Squirrel) is a small tree squirrel that populates
much of the boreal forest in North America (Yahner 2003). The fur is normally rusty reddish
or reddish brown on the dorsal surface, and white or grayish white on the ventral surface;
the tail is rusty to yellowish rusty, and dark lateral lines demarcate dorsal and ventral fur,
especially in summer (Steele 1998). Despite its abundance, relatively few cases of color
aberrations have been observed in this species (Jung and Slough 2012, Steele 1998). Rare
records of melanistic (Adams 1873, Benton 1958, Mengel and Jenkinson 1971), albinistic
(Wood 1965) or unusual color variations, such as piebald (Layne 1954), partial albinos
(Banfield 1974) or isabelline (Jung and Slough 2012) have been r eported.
1Department of Biology, Chemistry and Geography, University of Quebec at Rimouski, 225 Rang
2 ouest, Sainte-Luce, QC, Canada G5L 3A1. 2Department of Biology, Chemistry and Geography,
University of Quebec at Rimouski 66 rue du Fleuve ouest, Sainte-Luce, QC, Canada G5L 3A1. *Corresponding
author - jean_ferron@uqar.ca.
Notes of the Northeastern Naturalist, Issue 20/4, 2013
Figure 1. Albino Red Squirrel from Sainte-Luce, Quebec, Canada, 2012.
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2013 Northeastern Naturalist Notes Vol. 20, No. 4
J. Ferron and P. Laplante
Herein we report an adult, wild albino Red Squirrel from Sainte-Luce in eastern Quebec
(48°32'50"N, 68°23'32"W). Its habitat was adjacent to a residential street in the village. Its
home range was located on two private properties that were planted about 40 years ago with
Picea abies (L.) H. Carst (Norway Spruce) and Larix europaea DC. (European Larch). The
animal was entirely white, including vibrissae, and had pinkish eyes due to the lack of pigmentation
(Fig. 1). We identified it as a male from photos and direct observation. This male
was first seen early June 2012 and was regularly observed at the same location through the
end of October 2012 when it was killed by a vehicle on the village main road. It behaved
similarly to pigmented squirrels, in that it was observed collecting, hoarding, and eating
spruce and larch cones, vocalizing to advertise its territory, and grooming similarly to its
conspecifics.
Esteve and Jeffery (1998), who studied the retina of Sciurus carolinensis Gmelin
(Gray Squirrel), suggest that squirrels are apparently the only albino mammals to survive
and breed in the wild as their visual deficits are minor. They found that central cell densities
in the retina were only 5% lower in the albino than in pigmented Gray Squirrels,
whereas in other mammals this cell reduction within the retina could be as much as 25%.
Steele and Koprowski (2001) reported that many US cities harbor populations of white
S. carolinensis (albino and non-albino white morphs). The existence of these albinistic
populations, however, may be due more to their locally protected status, as albinism is a
recessive trait.
Occurrences of entirely albino individuals have been sporadically reported in the wild in
other sciurid species, such as Marmota monax L. (Woodchuck; Tenney 1871), Tamias striatus
L. (Eastern Chipmunk; Zinn 1953), Sciurus aberti Woodhouse (Abert Squirrel; Keith
1965) and the Red Squirrel (Wood 1965, present study). The survival of these sciurids in the
wild suggests that they too experience only a minor visual deficit compared to non-albino
individuals. Albinism is present in other mammal species and some animals survive in
the wild under particular circumstances that ultimately provide protection from predators,
such as living in habitat that consists of dense vegetation, or being primarily nocturnal (see
review in McCardle 2012)
The lack of pigmentation is widely considered a major disadvantage in the wild, because
an albino may be more easily detected by predators (McCardle 2012), which is certainly the
case for the diurnal and arboreal Red Squirrel. In conjunction with the recessive nature of
this trait, it is not surprising that albino individuals are rarely reported for this species.
Acknowledgments. We are grateful to R. Dechamplain, who reported the presence of this
albino squirrel in the area, and to M.H. St-Laurent for reviewing the manuscript. Useful
comments and suggestions were also received from an anonymous reviewer and manuscript
editor, T.J. Maier.
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2013 Northeastern Naturalist Notes Vol. 20, No. 4
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J. Ferron and P. Laplante
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