In fact it’s all white now...

Where Gazette readers have spotted ‘albino’ squirrels in Canterbury and outlying areas - plus pictures of them

Gazette readers have gone nuts for albino squirrels! Earlier this month, we revealed how two of the “ultra-rare” creatures had been spotted just miles apart in the Canterbury district. But our assertions they were thought to be among just 25 in Britain have proved a little wide of the mark unless the entire population lives in east Kent! Because our mailbag and inbox has been deluged by reported sightings of the eye-catching squirrels, which have no pigmentation on their body. John Marsh, of Cowdrey Place, Canterbury, was among those to put us right. “These white squirrels are not as scarce as the article suggests,” he wrote. “In fact, in the garden at the housing court where I live we have two white ones that visit us daily. “They are also very tame and come over to one of our residents, who puts peanuts down for them.” The Ebury Hotel is also said to have two albino squirrels, who visit every day. True population numbers are hard to come by - and trust us, we’ve searched high and low - but the number of local sightings suggest they may be more common than first thought. The Gazette contacted the Albino Squirrels Preservation Society (yes, there is one), to see if we could get to the bottom of our numbers search, but had not received a response as the paper went to press. 1 CADNAM CLOSE Jennifer Keen snapped this ghostly squirrel on the lawn at her Canterbury home 2 HARKNESS DRIVE Pauline Mcewen spotted one of these pale creatures near the University grounds in the city 3 NEW DOVER ROAD Sarah Brady claimed seeing an albino squirrel along this road in Canterbury; Marion Bell also reported a sighting there 4 NEW DOVER ROAD The Ebury Hotel was another location for a reported sighting in the city, by a man called Bryan 6 COWDREY PLACE John Marsh was another to report a sighting of these unusual animals in Canterbury 7 ROCHESTER AVENUE Norma Taylor took a photo of this squirrel feeding while on the ground, in Canterbury 8 BARTON ROAD Tony Homersham took this image of a white squirrel in the city