Melanistic Gray Squirrel

I know I've posted a lot of squirrel photos this year, but I don't often see melanistic squirrels. I happened to see this one in the preserve near my home recently and had to share it. Melanism is a genetic condition that results in the darkening of body tissue and in this case the fur of either a common gray squirrel or fox squirrel. It's actually believed that this phenomenon is the result of the two species crossbreeding. There may be benefits to this genetic variation such as absorbing more heat during the cold winter months and better camouflage from predators. It is estimated that less than 1% of squirrel's possess this genetic variation and I can attest to that because I see A LOT of squirrels and I've only seen a handful of these over the years. This one was foraging for walnuts, and I lucked out when he stopped on a log for a moment to pose with his prize.