Wildlife

Here in the city of Toronto, we have all sorts of wildlife.  We have animals of all sizes and descriptions, from the smallest (mice) to largest (deer) roaming through backyards.  It's not at all uncommon to see raccoons, possums and porcupines on local streets or in one of our many parks.  A raccoon ambled past our picnic table last Saturday afternoon, which was a shock to all of us, as he was quite close to us and did not appear to be at all perturbed by all the people and dogs nearby.  Just last week, authorities shot a bear in the east end of the city!  Which I admit is quite unusual but still, not completely surprising.

Squirrels are everywhere and come in various colours - black, brown and grey.  My mother tells a funny story about when she was driving guests from New Zealand around the city several years ago and they suddenly and urgently asked her to stop the car.  She thought there was some sort of emergency, they were making such a fuss. Turns out they had spotted a grey squirrel, an animal they had never seen back home. We laughed when we heard the story, for we tend to take them completely for granted here and most of us think of them as merely furry rodents who try to eat the birdseed in the feeder.

However, I was quite surprised to catch sight of this unusually coloured specimen just a few weeks ago as I was walking in my neighbourhood.  I have never, ever before seen a black squirrel with a white tail.

Here's a better shot.

You can bet I'll be watching to see if I can spot this little fellow again next time I'm walking in that area!!

Day 10/30 - #artfuladventures with Nathalie Kalback

Day 46/100 - #100dayproject