Brevard’s white squirrels originated from a carnival animal truck. According to Brevard resident Mrs. W.E. Mull, a pair of white squirrels was given to her brother-in-law, H.H. Mull, by Mr. Black of Madison, Florida, in 1949. A carnival truck had overturned near Black’s home and the squirrels were caught by Mr. Black when he observed them playing in his pecan grove.
Mull gave the critters to his niece, Barbara, who unsuccessfully tried to breed them. In 1951 she married and left home. Eventually, one of the white squirrels escaped and Mr. Mull soon let the other one go. Before long, the squirrels began breeding in the wild and appeared in several areas of town.
The white squirrels became so prized that the Brevard City Council voted to approve an ordinance declaring and establishing a sanctuary for squirrels, especially the white ones, in 1986. And that it “shall be unlawful for any person to hunt, kill, trap, or otherwise take any protected squirrels within the city by this section.”
Biologists recognize no known species of all-white squirrels in the world. The Brevard squirrels, with dark eyes and sometimes gray streaked fur, are not albinos==a condition in which an animal’s body has no melanin, a color pigment, resulting in white skin and fur, and pink or reddish eyes.
In addition to Brevard, white squirrels have been spotted in Olney, IL; Versailles, IL; Hodgenville, KY; Marionville, MO; Trenton, NJ; Bloomfield, NY; Greenwood, SC; and Kenton, TN. But only Brevard holds an annual festival in their honor!!
2008 marks the 12th year that Brevard takes a white squirrel count. Each fall Bob Glesener (director of The White Squirrel Research Institute) coordinates this annual survey.
The Institute started as a Brevard College student project in 1997 with four science students and Glesener. After these students graduated, Glesener single-handedly continued the project with the help of volunteers. The purpose of the count is to determine the percentage of white squirrels each year.
The study area is approximately three square miles following the original city limits. It is divided into 35 sectors, each roughly 20-30 acres in size.
During the years of study, the population of the white squirrels in Brevard has held steady at about 25 percent of the entire squirrel population. Although the count is not an actual census, it does give an accurate estimate of the percentage of the white versus gray squirrels.
Using other methods, the Institute has also estimated the squirrel density on the Brevard College campus to be over twice that of most of the rest of the study area. This abundance, coupled with a high percentage of the white variant (over 35%), makes the College with its park-like landscape, one of the best places for visitors to view their first white squirrel.
Each September Glesener recruits volunteers (White Squirrel Spotters) to help with the white squirrel count. If interested, please contact the Heart of Brevard.
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