Sad news today for Toronto's squirrel population, which is short one of its most noteworthy members, a white squirrel from Trinity Bellwoods Park. We received a tip over the weekend that the poor critter had been electrocuted in the power lines above the park, a fact which is confirmed by a grainy but convincing photo of the aftermath. It's an unceremonious end for a creature that enjoys near mythic status in Toronto.



This isn't the end of white squirrel sightings in the park, though. Despite continued references to the white squirrel of Trinity Bellwoods, park experts insist that there are at least two such creatures, who have been spotted together on numerous occasions, no less. So while that's good news for this bit of urban folklore, one wonders about the future of the line. Will we ever see little baby white squirrels running around? Perhaps there are more than two adult squirrels, and these white anomalies will propagate and continue to offer themselves up for rare sightings around the park.

Let's hope so.

Nighttime photo by Matt Murphy and Amil Niazi