Japanese Squirrel

I didn't know any of these were in Europe. That's cool!

@FunkyGibbon
There a few photos from here dating back several years. Absolutely gorgeous and a new one for me.

This species was still kept at Best when I visited on May 25th. Faunapark Flakkee is another holder in the Netherlands, which I visited on June 1st.

According to ztl there are two holders in England, Axe Valley and Wingz so not easily accessible for you @FunkyGibbon. There are an added 8 holders throughout Europe as well so there's potential for them to spread a bit more.

@FunkyGibbon They are likely not real Japanese squirrels, but rather colour morps of European squirrels....

This kind of thing really irritates me... why do zoos label animals in their collection as something they are not?

That said, I was kind of wondering already why the "Japanese squirrels" I saw in real life or in photo from these places all have these white patches. Them being some kind of color morph would explain that…

@lintworm

I saw piebald European Red Squirrels in private collections in NL in the 1980s. Then, they were called just that. 'Japanese' Squirrel appears top be a new name...?

They certainly don't look like the squirrels in Inokashira....