Dana Point, California: White Squirrels of the Pacific

No white squirrels to be found 4/10/15. Nice place to visit.

Made a stop to see the white squirrels and while the park had lots and lots of squirrels we never saw any of the famous white squirrels. It was disappointing.

Pays to be patient and to smell like food. They are along the rocks facing out of the harbor.

Some are white, some are off-white, but they are unmistakably white California Ground Squirrels (Otospermophilus Beechyi) out at Dana Point Harbor. I photograph squirrels and there is nothing quite as unique as capturing the inquisitive little expressions of ground squirrels perched on rocks with rays of sunlight beating down over them and a glistening blue Pacific Ocean as the backdrop.

After friends alerted me to an article about the white squirrels in the OC Register last month, I took a drive down there myself. Even if you don't see the white ones on the day you go, you will see ground squirrels. Some say there's an "infestation" but I call it a colony! I went one Saturday and only saw the brown ones. When I went the following weekend, I went in the morning and saw four white ground squirrels. They seem to be more skittish than the brown ones.

A couple walking by stopped to look at one that was sitting very still on a rock just watching people pass. They were commenting on the cute squirrel when suddenly the husband exclaimed "Why is it so white?!!" It's a genetic mutation that reduces pigmentation but they're not albinos because they don't have pink eyes. They're fluffy and cute and chubby. It makes you want to take one home and name it Snowball!