Squirrels in High Park

The Eastern Grey Squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis, is very common in High Park, since an important feature for this species is the presence of large canopy trees, such as oaks, which provide food and den sites.

While it’s not hard to spot an Eastern Grey Squirrel in High Park, you’re most likely to do so during the day, when they are most active, and if you look around at the trees, where they spend most of their lives.

The white squirrel you may come across in High Park is actually an Eastern Grey Squirrel which has white fur as a result of mutated genes. It’s a partial albino – the eyes are dark, not pink like a pure albino. While sightings in High Park are rare, Toronto's Trinity Bellwoods Park has long been known for its colony of partial and pure albinos, where there have actually been sightings of squirrels not only with white fur, but also pink eyes. Albinos don’t tend to persist, possibly because albinism is linked to poor vision, making them more vulnerable to predators and vehicles.

That’s right, the black and grey squirrels you see running around the park (at up to 25 km per hour!) are not two separate species, but simply different colour variations.

While you may not have been so lucky as to spot a white squirrel in High Park, certainly you’ve come across the Eastern Grey Squirrel in one of its other colours, grey or black. That’s right, the black and grey squirrels you see running around the park (at up to 25 km per hour!) are not two separate species, but simply different colour variations. The black phase is common in the Toronto area but uncommon in the northeast U.S. and not found at all in the southern U.S. Before European settlement, black squirrels were more common than grey throughout their range. It is thought that their dark colour gave them better protection from predators when they lived in the dense dark forests that once covered the northeastern States and eastern Canada. The fact that they are still common here may be related to our colder climate.

Squirrels get their name from their bushy tail.

Squirrels get their name from their bushy tail. The word Sciurus is actually derived from two different Greek words that mean “shadow” and “tail”. It’s no surprise they were named for their tail, as it has several functions, including keeping warm in the winter, expressing their mood to other squirrels, and distracting predators.

The fact that High Park is located in an urban area is no deterrent for Eastern Grey Squirrels. In fact, the highest density in the U.S recorded for this species was at Lafayette Park, next to the White House, where these large canopy trees were present, with density of the squirrels at this site reaching 20 per acre. (No similar numbers are available for High Park but we seem to have our fair share.)

Note: The less common Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudonsicus) also occurs in High Park.

When the restoration of the Black Oak Savannah began in the 1990s, it was thought that the large population of grey squirrels may have contributed to poor oak regeneration in High Park, since acorns are a favoured food source (although their storing habits may also help in the planting process). In recent years the oak regeneration has been responding well to better management practices, such as prescribed burns, so maybe the squirrels were not the culprits after all!