{"id":1954,"date":"2024-06-04T12:30:53","date_gmt":"2024-06-04T12:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onlinenews92.com\/?p=1954"},"modified":"2024-06-04T12:30:53","modified_gmt":"2024-06-04T12:30:53","slug":"the-mystery-of-the-squnk-ohio-residents-cant-tell-if-this-creature-is-a-squirrel-or-a-skunk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onlinenews92.com\/?p=1954","title":{"rendered":"The mystery of the &#8220;squnk&#8221;: Ohio residents can&#8217;t tell if this creature is a squirrel or a skunk,&#8230;.."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"526\" height=\"701\" src=\"https:\/\/onlinenews92.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/IMG_3277.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1955\" srcset=\"https:\/\/onlinenews92.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/IMG_3277.jpeg 526w, https:\/\/onlinenews92.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/IMG_3277-225x300.jpeg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 526px) 100vw, 526px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A unique, fascinating creature has been turning heads in Northeast Ohio recently: an animal that appears to be a cross between a squirrel and a skunk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The animal, dubbed a &#8220;squnk,&#8221; has the body of a squirrel but the dark black fur and white-tipped tail of a skunk:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There have been several sightings of the unique creature in Ohio recently and photos have gone viral on social media. Some have speculated that the &#8220;squnk&#8221; might actually be a hybrid of the two animals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This &#8220;squnk,&#8221; it turns out, is actually a black squirrel. While it doesn&#8217;t have any skunk DNA, it is still quite a rare sight. Black squirrels are the result of breeding between eastern gray squirrels and fox squirrels: the animal seen here is actually an eastern gray squirrel who inherited a gene variant resulting in a darker coloration, according to Smithsonian Magazine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Black squirrels are rare, making up only one in every 10,000 squirrels. Their dark coat gives them a thermal advantage over normal gray squirrels, helping them to keep warm in the winter and in colder regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Black squirrels are the unofficial mascot of Kent State University: in 1961, 10 black squirrels were released on campus, and they have become an iconic staple of the university ever since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So if you&#8217;re in Ohio and come across a &#8220;squnk,&#8221; rest assured it&#8217;s only a black squirrel with a little skunk-like fur on its tail &#8211; you&#8217;re not in danger of getting sprayed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wow, what a striking creature! It might not actually be a squirrel-skunk hybrid but still a unique animal to come across<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A unique, fascinating creature has been turning heads in Northeast Ohio recently: an animal that appears to be a cross between a squirrel and a skunk. The&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinenews92.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinenews92.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinenews92.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlinenews92.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlinenews92.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1954"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/onlinenews92.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1954\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1956,"href":"https:\/\/onlinenews92.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1954\/revisions\/1956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinenews92.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlinenews92.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlinenews92.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}