https://wildlife.blog/tags/san-mateo/Recent content in San Mateo on Wildlife.blogHugoen-ushttps://wildlife.blog/posts/black-squirrel-in-a-tree/https://wildlife.blog/posts/black-squirrel-in-a-tree/<p><strong>Eastern Fox Squirrel</strong> <em>(Sciurus niger)</em></p> <p>North America&rsquo;s largest tree squirrel, the fox squirrel carries a recessive melanistic gene that occasionally produces all-black individuals with no brown or gray at all.</p> <p>San Mateo&rsquo;s parks host one of California&rsquo;s densest populations of melanistic fox squirrels, where all-black coats are so common they&rsquo;re practically the local standard.</p> <p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_squirrel">Wikipedia</a> | <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/46017-Sciurus-niger">iNaturalist</a> | <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?taxon_id=46017&amp;place_id=14">Observations map</a></p>https://wildlife.blog/posts/black-fox-squirrel-san-mateo/https://wildlife.blog/posts/black-fox-squirrel-san-mateo/<p><strong>Eastern Fox Squirrel</strong> <em>(Sciurus niger)</em></p> <p>The largest tree squirrel in North America, Bay Area populations frequently express a striking all-black (melanistic) coat that sets them apart from the rusty-orange form seen elsewhere.</p> <p>San Mateo&rsquo;s parks and neighborhoods are dense with Eastern Fox Squirrels — a non-native species that spread across the Bay Area after introductions in the early 20th century and now outnumbers native Western Gray Squirrels in many urban areas.</p>