The black squirrels I saw were descendants of two pairs imported from Japan as breeding pairs for a lakeside cottage property back in the 1800s. The main group is in a fairly small area but ever so often one will show up in the general population of grey squirrels. The greys accept them with no problems. Obviously there was some cross over. There is sometimes talk of eliminating them from the summer visitors but the permanent residents object and the talk goes away for a while. After a hundred years it is probably not going to happen. Sandy

Thanks for finding this information. I do think that is exactly what the squirrels have. Of the three that my mom had, only one had the full back marking and the other two were spotted white. We thought they were probably from the same litter. I looked for pictures of the spotted ones, but I must have not taken any. It is amazing that the two squirrels, 350 miles apart would have the same markings. Thanks again for solving this mystery.

They eat them here in San Jose. I don't know any effective way of getting rid of them. Even if you trap/kill others will move into their space. Ideal would be have fruit contained in some kind of chicken wire where you have to open a door to go in and get fruit. EDIT: I should say these are grey squirrels

I've never had to deal with that problem, but I would see if there is a nearby government pest control department or check with a professional pest control company. Also, if there is any food source that encourages them to stick around (bird feeders or garden), I would make sure that is removed. I'm quite certain that the only solution will be some method of killing them. Transporting them to a distant location is basically the equivalent, since they won't have their accustomed food sources or protective nest, so will succumb to starvation or predation. A quick, humane death is preferable. Could you get or borrow one of the small breeds of dog who are designed for this work? Tie it to the tree you are concerned about, and that might help. But, the roots might suffer even more damage. Good luck with your problem. Martha