Tales of ghostly rodents in NC national forest are based in fact, Forest Service says

It sounds like the makings of a horror movie: two mutant rodents escape a carnival truck and propagate in the mountains of North Carolina.

Yet that’s exactly what happened in the case of the ghostly white squirrels that roam Pisgah National Forest, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

“These white squirrels, a variant of the eastern grey squirrel, are believed to have originated from an overturned carnival truck. In a twist of fate, they not only survived but thrived, breeding and populating the surrounding area,” officials reported in a Jan. 23 Facebook post.

“Pisgah National Forest now treasures these unique squirrels, and interestingly, they coexist seamlessly with the native eastern grey squirrels.”

But they are not albino, experts say. They have “dark eyes and sometimes gray-streaked fur,” according to city officials in Brevard, which sits adjacent to the national forest.

A more accurate term is leucism, a phenomenon that “causes white coloration, white patches, spots, or splotches on the skin or fur,” the National Park Service says.

Brevard historians also link the squirrels to an overturned carnival truck. The mishap occurred around 1950 in Brevard and the squirrels spread to the 500,000-acre Pisgah National Forest only after establishing a population in town, officials say.

It’s estimated around one-third of Brevard’s squirrels are now white. The unique rodents are so beloved that the city voted in 1986 to become a squirrel sanctuary. Brevard is about 120 miles west of Charlotte.

The designation makes it unlawful “for any person to hunt, kill, trap, or otherwise take any protected squirrels within the city by this section.”

Among the many mysteries is how the squirrels have managed to thrive among coyotes, bobcats and foxes, despite an appearance that more easily attracts predators.

This story was originally published February 6, 2024 at 10:19 AM.