Is it too late for Halloween?
A few weeks ago, I was coming home from a doctor’s appointment when I turned on to my street and nearly ran over one of the most unusual looking squirrels I have ever seen. His 
tail looked like something that should belong to a raccoon with its grey and light orange stripes! I kept a sharp lookout for this squirrel over the next few days because I obviously had to get some pictures of it to share with my rodent loving tolerating public.
Unfortunately, this unusually marked sciurine had apparently claimed the first few yards on my street as his sole territory, and never got close enough for me to get really good photos of. Walking down the street to bring the subject closer to me didn’t help, especially with all the dead foliage on the ground… it just spooked him off. So you’ll have to make do with images that look like they were taken from the Hubble Telescope… but they should suffice nonetheless in capturing this bizarrely furred critter that is one of my more fashionably freaky Saturday Squirrels ever!
Wave that freak flag of yours, buddy.
Don’t hide your head… you look….. um….. unique.
Someone’s in need of a little Tufts of Love TLC.
As you can see from the above photo, the reason for the lighter tail markings appear to be a lack of fur in those areas. The blonde sections are much thinner since they are lacking the signature thick, grey fur squirrels normally sport on their waggers. Like my previous friend Foxy, this squirrel has likely since grown in that missing fur which is why I haven’t seen that unforgettable tail scampering around the neighborhood lately. But at least he looked freakishly cute for a little while, and I was able to immortalize his fashion forward look with a few far off, but still quite flattering pics of the one and only squirrelcoon…
I better get while the getting’s good…
Have a great weekend everyone!
Evil Squirrel's Nest 
I guessed it, blondes have more fun … and I think that squirrel agrees :o)
I’m not sure if he’s a blonde or a ginger on his scalp… maybe the best of both worlds!
Wowsers! What a cool tail – even if it was the result of hair loss. Let’s hope he’s furred out properly before winter! 🙂
I hope he’s properly furred out right now! We’re expecting our first temperatures below freezing later on today with that dreaded “S” word being bandied about….
Here too, squirrel… my bunnies are hopping around my kitchen right now since I need to get their hutch in the shed properly winterized. I can’t say I mind the company, though… Lagomorphs, like sciuriines, are an endless source of amusement!
I’ll bet they are quite snuggly on winter days too!
Sure are… but they don’t lke when my hands are busy typing. Right now, they are trying to burrow a hole in the bottom of their corduroy cat igloo bed… they’re strewing cotton wool everywhere and generally making a mess. I think they call this “enrichment…” LOL. All smart animals are easily bored, I guess.
Oh my goodness I saw one like that in my yard a few months ago. It was small too – a new squirrel. I saw it once and never again.
Ii think most of the squirrels with these blonde-reddish patches are youngins who are still growing in their adult fur. I think it’s the squirrel equivalent of a kid with a mouthful of missing baby teeth….
How cute – I want a squirrelcoon! The coloring of its tail is very bizarre. I’ve got squirrels missing bunches of fur on their tails but the color change is nowhere near that drastic. I think you really might have the world’s first squirrelcoon there! Of course, you’re probably right about the fur coming in to hide the stripes. I was looking through my photo archives and I’m amazed by how much the squirrels changed in just the last few weeks. They really fur up fast this time of year!
I began noticing that too…. the difference between my summer and winter pictures. You don’t really notice it normally, but side by side, the winter dudes are adorably bushier! It’s a shame he couldn’t keep that tail permanently, at least for my viewing pleasure. I’m sure from a camouflage point of view, he’ll be much better off once it goes completely grey….
I adore their winter bushiness! I think the extra fur and chub makes them twice as heart-meltingly cute.
How cool is that?! Cool pics!
I wish I could keep him as a pet, but my cats might not approve…
No, no, they might approve all too well….
You have a point there….
Oh they’d approve. For about ten minutes, during the chase…
With the onset of winters I’m observing that squirrels in my garden are less seen. I didn’t find any change of fur though till now. Might be I have not paid any attention in that field. I’ll be more observant now after reading your post and seeing these marvelous pictures.
Any change in fur would depend on how cold it normally gets in your area. Squirrels where I live have to deal with temperatures that sometimes dip below zero degrees Fahrenheit, so they grow their fur out very thickly in the winter (As well as bulk up their fat layers). If you’ve ever seen pictures of the absolutely gorgeous squirrels that inhabit Northern and Eastern Europe, their heavy winter coats of fur are very apparent given the very harsh wintry conditions they have to face…
Thank you for giving such valuable information on squirrels. You are right it depends on the climate & temperatures.
aw! Squirrelcoon. Blonde and red! Quite the fashionista! ❤
I am waiting to meet a squirrel with punk rock colors in its hair! And a mohawk for good measure!
probably he had a nasty duel with an ES who ripped him off 😉
Squirrels taking the fur of other squirrels? What is the world coming to!?!?
That’s funny, we had a squirrel lose in the university library where I work. Some guy tried to catch him and pulled the fur off his tail. They say he was easy to spot for a while, what with having a bald tail. I wasn’t here for the squirrel, but I have been here for the wasps, the bees, the snakes, and the bats. We are wild kingdom here. In fact, a university is a great place to find squirrels because college students feed them with their scraps. I once saw a squirrel dart up into a tree with a small bit of pizza in its mouth.
I wish I’d gone to a school with a big, beautiful squirrel filled campus, but I attended an urban facility that had more homeless people hanging about who tried to sell me tampons (I kid you not). They’ll (the squirrels) eat about anything, though. My sister got a picture of one eating a taco shell once…
I would love to see that, ha. The squirrels here will sometimes sit on your feet – no fear. I hope they don’t become urban squirrels.
That is one seriously amazing tail!
I’m glad I got at least a few crappy pictures of it, because I doubt I’ll ever see one like that again!