White is cool at Sage Meadow

While most Western gray squirrels, Sciurus griseus, are as their name implies — gray all over and often difficult to see in a tree — there’s a white one hanging out at Sage Meadow that stands out like a sore thumb — usually.

When we had that big snow on the ground and trees a while back it was like a ghost.

Bill and Jane Moore were the first to call me about the beautiful albino squirrel visiting their bird feeder. Bill was especially helpful, calling me several times during the day with, “Hi, Jim, the squirrel is here again.” But when I arrived, said squirrel was long gone.

Bill eventually got the idea to see if he could hook the squirrel on peanuts, and for a while it worked; but soon magpies discovered the peanuts and after that, the squirrel didn’t have a chance. Oh, sure it tried, even to the point of attacking a magpie, but magpies being what they are, well…

Then a bunch of turkeys flocked to Sage Meadow and got into Bill’s peanuts and that was that — but not before Bill and Jane came up with a set of spectacular photos of the Sage Meadow albino gray squirrel.

Albinism in wildlife is not that uncommon, even around Sisters. I have seen white house finches, robins, a red-tailed hawk, mallards and a knockout golden mantled ground squirrel at Cold Springs.

In Europe, legends are told about white deer, while several geographical locations have taken their names from albino animals, such as White Fox, White Wolf and White Moose in North America. White buffalo also figure prominently in western American Indian legends.

Because they are rare, albino animals have become valuable attractions in zoological gardens and circuses as well. While some animals such as white ferrets and albino rabbits are common, others are unique in the real sense of the word.

Snowflake, for example, a lowland gorilla held in captivity in a zoo in Spain, was chosen to be the mascot of the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. There is a giraffe from Tanzania, Twiga Mweupe, also known by local tribes as the “phantom of the savanna,” or Goolara and an albino koala from San Diego Zoo, USA that are peculiar instances of animals with unique pigmentation. And who can forget Amy, the sign-talking white ape in Michael Crichton’s film, “Congo?”

I have to tell you there’s an “Albino Squirrel Preservation Society,” or ASPS. Really! Dustin Ballard founded it in April of 2001 at the University of Texas — because white squirrels have been known to bring good luck on final exams. How that works, I have no idea.

Be that as it may, since 2001, ASPS chapters have sprung up on campuses throughout the USA and Canada. Perhaps the residents of Sage Meadow would like to start their own chapter and enjoy good luck as well.