The Elusive and Rare White Squirrel

An elusive and possibly rare white squirrel is keeping shutterbugs in Windsor on the move.

Linda Kelly, who first spotted the critter in her neighbourhood in September, said she couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the white squirrel dart across a neighbour's lawn.


"It's just so wonderful. I just didn't believe it, because I've never ever seen a white squirrel," she said. "To me, it's a good omen."


She'd been trying to photograph the creature for a few weeks before finally snapping a shot of it on Wednesday.


"You see something that strange, you definitely want to click a picture," she said.


Kelly says she's not alone in her squirrel-stalking activities.


Other neighbourhood shutterbugs have been hunting the elusive prey, too.


But could the tricky critter become Windsor's next "weeping" Virgin Mary, drawing hundreds of curious residents and reverent nature lovers?


Not if Kelly has anything to do with it. She's keeping mum on the exact location of the white squirrel's home turf, saying only that it lives in Forest Glade.


"I know people are going to come, and I really don't want that," Kelly said.


Meanwhile, another shutterbug has captured images of an elusive white squirrel in Lakeshore.


"I couldn't believe my eyes when this little critter ran in front of my car," said Lisa Adams. "I immediately jumped out of the car with a couple of lenses so that I could try to get the best shot possible."


Another Star reader, Elaine Weeks, sent in a photo of one of the two-toned squirrels running amok in Walkerville.


Roy Hardy, the CAO of the Municipalty of South Huron, where white squirrels are more common, sent an e-mail to The Star commenting on the buzz.


"Not to worry folks, it was just one of our residents coming back from cross border shopping who got mixed up on the interstate," he wrote. "He will come home soon to Exeter."


Kelly said she hasn't determined whether the Forest Glade squirrel is an albino because she hasn't caught a good glimpse of the rodent's eyes to see if they have the trademark pink hue associated with albinos.


Kelly said she's seen another squirrel in the area that bears a small patch of white fur on its back.


"It must be from the same litter or something," she speculated.


Though she's a nature lover, Kelly said she doesn't generally hold the rodents in high regard.


"Squirrels are a very big nuisance," she said. "But the white one can come on our property anytime."