Saturday, August 17, 2024

Saturday's postcard: The white squirrels of Olney, Illinois

This Genuine Curteich linen postcard shows the famed white squirrels of Olney, Illinois.

The Olney colony, the "White Squirrel Capital of the World" is still going fairly strong today. Wikipedia notes that the white squirrels have the right of way on all streets in the city of 9,100 human inhabitants. 

The city of Olney's website, which offers a detailed history of how the white squirrels came to inhabit the area and thrive, notes that the 2023 squirrel count found 858 gray squirrels, 73 white squirrels and 85 cats. (That cat count was down from 106 in 2022, a decrease that the city termed "greatly welcomed.")

The city report also noted with concern that extinction of the white squirrels there is possible by 2034 if no efforts are made to help preserve the population. But another study estimates that extinction would not occur until 2059. Suggested strategies to help the white squirrels include relocating some of the gray squirrels and providing "generous" food and water for the white squirrels, especially in the winter. Residents are encouraged to plant fruit and nut trees.

Other prominent white squirrel communities are located in Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi and New York. A few college campus also have their own white squirrel populations, which are fiercely protected by the human community.

Postcards of Olney's white squirrels from over the decades are fairly abundant on eBay. In a search, I even came across an image of a nifty QSL card (for the McWilliams family) touting Olney's white squirrel community.

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