We previously reported on white albino squirrels, including those in Olney, Illinois. Well, they're at it again - the people. Introducing the White Squirrel Prep Classic, a girls basketball tournament, I presume.
As a followup to a previous story about a albino squirrel naming contest in Arkansas City, Kansas, the squirrel's name will by "Arky". Click on picture to enlarge. See ArkCity.net for many more albino squirrel pictures.
Albino squirrels are very rare and have recessive gene that causes them to have white hair, skin, hands and feet and pink eyes.
A rare albino squirrel that was known to many students at the University of North Texas (UNT) has died. A mean hawk swooped down and killed the poor albino squirrel, probably becuase it was jeal
ous of the amount of food the squirrel was being fed.
This squirrel was famous at the University of North Texas, so famous that T.J. Zambrano formed a group called the UNT Albino Squirrel Preservation Society. Per the picture (seen here, click to enlarge), the UNT Albino Squirrel Preservation Society wa
s apparently trying to find a name for the squirrel.
Zambra no and other members of the UNT Albino Squirrel Preservation Society recently met in a courtyard that was the squirrel's "favorite scampering spot".
S
tudents at UNT say that seeing the albino squirrel before an exam would bring them good luck.
While albino squirrels are indeed white squirrels, not all white squirrels are albino squirrels. True albino squirrels have a recessive gene that limits pigmentation all over, including the eyes. This is why albino squirrels al
so have pink eyes and white skin, hands and feet.
The poster in this picture made by the UNT Albino Sq uirrel Preservation Society says that the odd a squirrel will be born albino is 1 in 100,000.
Residents of Arkansas City, Kansas, have fallen in love with an albino (white) squirrel living in the city. 
Apparently, this is the only such albino squirrel in the city because they are having a naming contest for the squirrel. Some of the current name suggestions include Arky, Blizzard, Snow White, Casper, Snowball, Powder Puff, Snowflake, Albi, Lucky and Angel. Here are some Arkansas City albino (white) squirrel pictures.
Per the Wikipedia page for squirrels, white Squirrels can be found in Kansas City, Kansas, Olney, Illinois, Brevard, North Carolina, Marionville, Missouri, and Oberlin, Ohio. There have been sightings in Effingham, Illinois, Lemont, Illinois, Laurel, Maryland, Washington, DC and Burnsville, MN.
Also from Wikipedia, Albino squirrels are thought by some to be a source of good luck. Olney, Illinois, is home of the world's largest known albino-squirrel colony. The Albino Squirrel Preservation Society was founded in 2001 at the University of North Texas to celebrate the proliferation of white and albino squirrels on campus. There are eight college chapters of the ASPS across the United States, Canada, and England.
He is a live link to the Albino Squirrel Preservation Society. The first time I heard of squirrels was the white albino squirrels of North Carolina. In fact, I want to credit Christy Hargrove of the University of North Carolina at Asheville for introducing me to white albino squirrels through her Squirrels R Us website.
