A retired North Carolina college professor says Elkton residents are seeing rare white squirrels in the town.
Robert Glesener of Brevard, N.C., said two e-mails in the last week show the squirrels are scampering, climbing trees and eating acorns near Big Elk Mall. He looked at photos of the squirrels to confirm the sightings.
The founder of the White Squirrel Research Institute said the leucistic squirrels aren't albinos. Rather, Glesener said the squirrels are variations of the Eastern gray squirrel with eyes that only contain pigment, causing them to be dark.
He said about a dozen cities east of the Mississippi River have colonies of white squirrels. He said other areas report isolated sightings.
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Information from: Cecil Whig of Elkton, Md.,
http://www.cecilwhig.com(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
