It was an epic battle. Four against two, the odds were unbelievable. But the underdogs prevailed. The black squirrels won the fight, chasing off the common western gray squirrels.
Western biology major Sarah Moorman’s story of the black squirrels is one of many. The black squirrels running throughout
Western’s campus and Bellingham do not go unnoticed, Moorman said. 
“They’re ninja-like,” Moorman said. “Black squirrels rock.”
These critters are a dark morph of the eastern gray squirrel, Huxley College Professor John McLaughlin said in an e-mail interview. A morph is a variation of an animal, including color, under the same breed.
The eastern gray is native to eastern North America, but it has been introduced to many parts of the west, McLaughlin said.
This species of squirrel has displaced the western gray squirrel, which is native to the Bellingham area, and most of Washington, he said.
The eastern gray squirrel was introduced to Washington in 1925, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife website.
Western student Andrew Murry, who lives on The Ridge, said there are often black squirrels outside his window. Watching them jump from tree to tree can be fun, he said.
“Sometimes they get into it with each other and run spiraling up the trees,” Murry said. “That can get exciting.”
People may notice the squirrels are not seen as frequently during the winter months. Squirrels are more active in the fall when they gather and store food, and in spring once breeding activity commences, McLaughlin said. Squirrels tend to remain under cover during colder weather, he said.
The black squirrels are aggressive toward people, said Western sophomore Krista Vestman. One friend had a black squirrel attack her feet while she was walking across campus, she said.
“We were walking and this squirrel started getting at her feet,” Vestman said. “She was like, ‘What is this? Squirrels are supposed to be afraid of me.’ They are out to get us.”
Aggression could differ between morphs of the same animal, as in black and gray eastern gray squirrels, McLaughlin said.
However, it should not be assumed the black morphs aggression is a general pattern of all of them, he said.
“Perhaps squirrels in a particular area have developed aggressive behavior,” he said.
So why are the black squirrels more prevalent in Bellingham? The dark morph is more adapted to colder climates, which is why people see them more in the Bellingham area than in southern parts of the state, McLaughlin said. Their black fur helps them retain heat, he said.
“You don’t see them anywhere else,” Moorman said. “They are part of Bellingham.”
