Hey Steve, it was an albino squirrel!

Boston-area blogger Steve Garfield captured a white squirrel scampering around Jamaica Pond last month - and now the experts are weighing in! Take a look at Steve’s video first.

We know that squirrel didn’t just fall into a bucket of white paint - so we went looking for answers!

Here’s what Massachusetts wildlife biologist Tom French had to say:

I just watched the video of the white squirrel in Jamaica Plain. What a neat squirrel!

It is a bit hard to tell, but the video appears to be of a true albino gray squirrel. Albinos are pure snow-white and have pink eyes which are the result of blood vessels showing through their pigment-free eyes. Even their noses look pink.

In theory, any species can produce albinos. The more common ones I have seen or heard of in New England include Porcupine, Woodchuck, Raccoon, White-tailed Deer, American Robin, American Crow, Common Snapping Turtle, and Eastern Garter Snake.

Since albinism is genetic, the chances of finding another individual in the same area is greater than elsewhere, so Jamaica Plain would seem to be a good area to keep a look out for more white squirrels.

In Massachusetts, several color forms of gray squirrel occur. The standard gray squirrel has a white belly and gray/silver/brown grizzled fur above. However, black individuals can also be seen across the state with a few hot spots such as Westfield and Amherst.

The black color form can be fairly common in the North but is very rare in the South.

A far less common color form is white. Most actually have white bellies and cream-white backs, and dark eyes. These are a real color form and not albinos. True albinos are even less common.