đź“Ť Stuyvesant Town, New York City
Eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) — melanistic morph
This is a melanistic Eastern gray squirrel, not a separate species. Melanism is an overproduction of the dark pigment melanin (the inverse of albinism), which turns the normally gray coat near-black; such animals are known informally as “black squirrels.” The two-toned appearance here — a black body with a tail retaining a warm rufous cast — reflects incomplete pigmentation of the tail rather than the animal’s age.
The melanistic morph is rare in wild populations, occurring in roughly 1 in 10,000 individuals, though it can reach much higher frequencies in some urban and northern populations where the trait appears to be favored. Eastern gray squirrels are abundant year-round across Manhattan’s parks, and Stuyvesant Town is a reliable spot to find the black morph.