Is Pennsylvania’s Purple Squirrel Real or Fake?

A couple in Pennsylvania captured a purple squirrel on their property. No one knows why it is purple, but otherwise it seems to be a normal, healthy squirrel.

Jim and Connie Emert live in Jersey Shore, PA. They have bird feeders on their property and have a slight issue with squirrels getting into them. To combat this, they trap the squirrels and then move them further away, to keep them away from the feeders.

One day, Connie saw a purple squirrel running around. Her husband didn’t believe her until the purple squirrel ended up caught in one of the regular traps. They transferred the squirrel to a large trap so it had room to move freely and they could photograph it and try to figure out what was wrong. They released it last week.

Nobody knows why the squirrel is purple. Some theorize that it has been dyed that color by getting into something, others say it may have chewed on a wire and become electrocuted, and still others say it is a chemical reaction caused by a high level of a compound found in mollusks that could be found in land animals if they have too much bromide in their systems. Or it could just all be a prankster with a mean sense of humor.

This isn’t the first evidence of a purple squirrel in the wild. Another purple squirrel was found in the UK in 2008. There was also a spotting in Minnesota in 1997.

See pictures of the Pennsylvania purple squirrel below and then go "like" him on Facebook.

[via AccuWeather]