{"id":163,"date":"2018-04-07T14:34:23","date_gmt":"2018-04-07T19:34:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/?p=163"},"modified":"2018-04-07T16:48:10","modified_gmt":"2018-04-07T21:48:10","slug":"whitey-the-squirrel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/2018\/04\/07\/whitey-the-squirrel\/","title":{"rendered":"Whitey the Squirrel"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The summer of 2013, we shared our yard with an <a href=\"http:\/\/www.untamedscience.com\/biodiversity\/white-squirrel\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">white<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Eastern_gray_squirrel\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)<\/a> that we called Whitey. White and black squirrels are <dfn title=\"each of several variant forms of an animal or plant\">morphs<\/dfn> of the Eastern Gray Squirrel. Unless they have pink eyes, white squirrels are not albino.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_160\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-160\" style=\"width: 768px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/whitey-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/whitey-2-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"A picture of a white Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) eating a nut\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" class=\"size-large wp-image-160\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/whitey-2-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/whitey-2-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/whitey-2-1200x1600.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-160\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A white Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) eating a nut.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Whitey had balance issues. He never seemed capable of running in a straight line. As he ran, he would veer to the right. He would then stop, correct his direction, and start running again, only to veer to the right. He also had issues staying upright on his hindquarters while eating. He often tipped over.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_161\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-161\" style=\"width: 768px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/whitey-3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/whitey-3-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"A picture of a white Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) digging for nuts.\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" class=\"size-large wp-image-161\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/whitey-3-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/whitey-3-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/whitey-3-1200x1600.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-161\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A white Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) digging for nuts.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>His being white was a marked disadvantage when it came to escaping predators. The local hawks  often hunted him. We did our best to protect him by chasing off the hawks by throwing rocks at them. Unfortunately, Whitey lived with us only a year before he disappeared. I suspect a hawk got him despite our efforts to protect him.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_159\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-159\" style=\"width: 840px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/whitey-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/whitey-1-989x1024.jpg\" alt=\"A picture of a white Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) digging around under shrubs\" width=\"840\" height=\"870\" class=\"size-large wp-image-159\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/whitey-1-989x1024.jpg 989w, https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/whitey-1-290x300.jpg 290w, https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/whitey-1-768x795.jpg 768w, https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/whitey-1-1200x1242.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/whitey-1.jpg 1299w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-159\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A white Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) digging around under shrubs.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>We often found Whitey eating and digging under the shrubs next to our side patio.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_162\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-162\" style=\"width: 840px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/whitey-4.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/whitey-4-1024x712.jpg\" alt=\"A picture of a white Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)\" width=\"840\" height=\"584\" class=\"size-large wp-image-162\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/whitey-4-1024x712.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/whitey-4-300x208.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/whitey-4-768x534.jpg 768w, https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/whitey-4-1200x834.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-162\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A white Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_204\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-204\" style=\"width: 840px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Whitey-and-the-Tiki.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Whitey-and-the-Tiki-1022x1024.jpg\" alt=\"A picture of a white Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)\" width=\"840\" height=\"842\" class=\"size-large wp-image-204\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Whitey-and-the-Tiki-1022x1024.jpg 1022w, https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Whitey-and-the-Tiki-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Whitey-and-the-Tiki-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Whitey-and-the-Tiki-768x769.jpg 768w, https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Whitey-and-the-Tiki-1200x1202.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-204\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A white Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) hanging out with a Tiki.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The summer of 2013, we shared our yard with an white Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) that we called Whitey. White and black squirrels are morphs of the Eastern Gray Squirrel. Unless they have pink eyes, white squirrels are not albino. Whitey had balance issues. He never seemed capable of running in a straight line. &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/2018\/04\/07\/whitey-the-squirrel\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Whitey the Squirrel&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[15],"class_list":["post-163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wildlife","tag-eastern-gray-squirrel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":205,"href":"https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163\/revisions\/205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcgerik.com\/homestead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}