According to various accounts, white squirrels have been popping up recently in the mountain counties of Colorado. 

A snapshot of a white squirrel was recently captured by a woman in her backyard in Douglas County.

This isn’t the first time a white squirrel has been spotted in the Centennial State. Nearly 50 miles away, more snapshots of a white squirrel emerged from Jefferson County.  

There are two kinds of white squirrels, white gray squirrels caused by a rare white morph and albino squirrels caused by a recessive gene, according to wildlife experts. 

Telling the two apart can be difficult – especially in sightings like these, which are known to be “a lot rarer in Colorado,” according to Rob Nelson with Untamed Science. According to him, 21,000 sightings have been reported nationwide.

The easiest way to tell the two types of white squirrels apart is by their eye color. Albino squirrels are completely white with red pinkish eyes. The eastern grey squirrel are often white and grey with black eyes. 

Eastern grey squirrels sightings have occurred in other western states including California, Oregon, and Washington.