A Scurry of Ghost Squirrels: Meet Bowling Green’s White Squirrels

Have you ever taken a squirrel safari? Maybe you’re thinking, “Why on earth would I want to do that?”

It’s possible that, like me, you live somewhere you don’t really need to. You regularly see the little rodents scampering about. Plus, they’re squirrels. I completely understand if you’re all, “I can see taking a safari in search of exotic animals, lady, but for squirrels?”

But what if we weren’t talking about your typical brown or gray ones? Plus, like white alligators, white squirrels are considered lucky. Who couldn’t use a little more luck in their lives?

So now are you interested in taking a squirrel safari in search of some luck? If so, consider Bowling Green, which has a large population of rare white squirrels that have thrived there for the last 80 years.

The White Squirrels of Bowling Green

Bowling Green’s white squirrels are Eastern grey squirrels. They just have reduced pigmentation in their fur.

They’re not albino squirrels, though. The lack of melanin in their coats is a characteristic called “leucism” that’s passed through a recessive gene. Eye color distinguishes squirrels with leucism from those with albinism. Bowling Green’s squirrels have big, black eyes rather than pink ones that albino squirrels have.

White squirrels can be found in a lot of places around the city, including Western Kentucky University, where you can visit the Kentucky Museum, which is both free and open to the public. Also, WKU is one of the haunted places in Bowling Green.

Speaking of scary things, if you’re a horror movie lover, John Carpenter hails from Bowling  Green. The visitor center offers a self-guided “John Carpenter’s Reel Sites, Real Scary Driving Tour.” While you cruise around on that, you may see some white squirrels, too.

But Kentucky’s third largest city is doing some other fun things to embrace their unofficial ambassadors. In April, the city has hosted the White Squirrels Arts Fest for the past two years. You can raise a glass of Nut Brown Ale in honor of the furry scurriers at the White Squirrel Brewery, which is one of the places you can pick up a white squirrel souvenir.

As far as BGKY squirrel merch, you’ll also find some at the campus shop at Western Kentucky University and shops downtown. Like Candle Makers on the Square, a gift shop that sells children’s books by Jan Trabue, a local clinical counselor and wildlife photographer. “Marty Lou,” a squirrel that lived in Traube’s backyard and “sported a personality as big as his tail,” inspired the books.

So, see? You could have a lot of fun on a white squirrel safari in Bowling Green, Kentucky!

Check-In

Have you ever seen a white squirrel? Or been to Bowling Green, Kentucky? Or done both?

Courtney Mroch

Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.

Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.