A rare black squirrel has been spotted scampering around Walworth.
Local resident Henry Long, 54, photographed the rodent near Salisbury Row Park, on Sunday afternoon (July 30).
Henry said: “I’d seen it before but normally I’m walking my dog and the dog hates squirrels so it chases it up a tree. So if he’s with me, I can’t usually get a photo.
“But I didn’t have my dog with me this time.”
Scientists say black squirrels are the product of interbreeding between grey and North American fox squirrels.
The first wild black squirrel was recorded in Woburn, Bedfordshire, in 1912, and was thought to have escaped from a private zoo after being imported from the United States.
In 2014, Dr Helen McRobie, of Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), discovered the distinctive jet-black appearance was caused by a faulty pigment gene.
The study revealed the faulty gene is identical to that found in the closely related fox squirrel, leading scientists to guess one had mated with its grey relative.
There are thought to be just 25,000 black squirrels in the UK.
They are mostly concentrated in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire.
In 2015, there were fears that “testosterone-charged” “mutant black squirrels” were terrorising the UK’s parks.
But it is now understood they are almost genetically identical to the grey squirrel. However, researchers have found they may be better suited to cooler climates due to their improved ability to retain body heat.
Dr McRobie previously told the BBC: “The fact black grey squirrels have become so common right across North America is possibly because black fur offers a thermal advantage, helping them inhabit regions with extremely cold winters.”
