Tree Squirrel - Albino and White Squirrels - Campus Populations

Campus Populations

In addition to the various towns that boast of their white squirrel populations, a number of university campuses in North America have white squirrels. The University of Texas at Austin is home to a white squirrel population which has spurred the myth of the albino squirrel as a good luck charm. There are many versions of the tale, but one of the more popular versions is if you spot the albino squirrel before an exam, you will ace it. The University of North Texas has an Albino Squirrel Preservation Society, founded in 2001. In 2006, the University of North Texas held a student referendum to name their white squirrel as the university's secondary mascot, but the vote was narrowly defeated by the student body. University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire has a significant white squirrel population both on the campus and in other areas of the city of Eau Claire. Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Michigan is home to frequently sighted white squirrels that live on and around the campus. A Facebook group dedicated to these squirrels, called I've Seen the Albino Squirrel of Michigan Tech, was created for people to post photographs and anecdotes of their encounters with the white squirrels, and includes some stories from Michigan Tech alumni that recall seeing white squirrels in Houghton dating back to the 1930s.

In Kentucky, the University of Louisville has established its own chapter of "The Albino Squirrel Preservation Society", which maintains contact with its members and interested parties through a Facebook group by that name. The university has an open policy to give away a free t-shirt to anyone who takes a photograph of a white squirrel on campus grounds and brings it to the administration offices.

Other university campuses that have albino squirrel populations include Oberlin College in Ohio, Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky (which has had a population of albino squirrels since the 1960s), and Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio.

Dr. Michael Stokes, a biology professor at Western Kentucky University, commented that the probable cause for the abundance of white squirrels on university campuses was because they were originally introduced by someone: "We're not sure how they got here, but I'll tell you how it usually happens...When you see them, especially around a college campus or parks, somebody brought them in because they thought it would be neat to have white squirrels around."

Dr. Albert Meier, another biology professor at Western Kentucky University, added that: "... white squirrels rarely survive in the wild because they can't easily hide. But on a college campus, they are less likely to be consumed by other animals."