Photo courtesy of Ken Fuller.
When Ken Fuller turned on the morning news Thursday, he saw a report of an albino squirrel living in Cedar Hill. While Cedar Hill residents were shocked to lay eyes on the rare white squirrel, Fuller said it’s a sight he and other neighbors in Westwood Park have grown used to.
Fuller said the little neighborhood just north of Kimball High School has been the home of multiple albino squirrels since at least 2020.
“We’ve been looking at them forever,” Fuller said. “They pretty much just hang out with all the other squirrels.”
Westwood Park resident Christina Bristow estimates seven albino squirrels live within the cul-de-sac at Cliffoak Drive and Maple Leaf Lane.Â
Photo courtesy of Christina Bristow.
The neighbors have named the squirrels, which can be told apart by their “little attitudes.” Farrah, the mother squirrel, and twins Snowball and Blanca, tend to stick around the trees near Bristow’s house, she said.
Bristow said people “trip out” when they see the squirrels for the first time. When landscaping or tree trimming workers come to the neighborhood, it isn’t uncommon to see workers taking a break from their jobs and pointing their phones into the trees, trying to snap a photo.
The squirrels have become a sort of mascot for the tight-knit neighborhood.
Last weekend, Westwood Park residents hosted a garage sale to raise money for street sign toppers decorated with Maple leaves and white squirrels.
“We’re proud of our little squirrels,” Fuller said.
Bristow said the neighborhood is close to fundraising enough money for the sign toppers, which will be approved and installed by the city once fully funded. Westwood Park also plans to sponsor an albino squirrel-themed float in next year’s Oak Cliff Mardi Gras parade.
When the squirrels first started showing up in the neighborhood, Bristow said she worried they would be eaten.
“Nature is not nice to things that are different,” she said.
But Bristow said the squirrels are full of spunk, and she has even watched one fight off a red-tailed hawk. Now, neighbors have grown used to seeing a new baby white squirrel each spring.
“It is really strange,” Bristow said. “But we are hoping for a new baby soon.”
