CRITTER

Couple Traps Purple Squirrel

In Pennsylvania.

It’s a squirrel of a different color. And possible explanations abound. The shocking purple squirrel was caught by a husband and wife in a backyard trap they use to keep animals away from their birdfeeder. “We have no idea whatsoever,” the pair told reporters. “It’s really purple. People think we dyed it, but honestly, we just found it and it was purple.” One expert queried by reporters said he thought the unusual pigmentation may indicate a high level of bromide in the squirrel’s system. Another theorized that the creature may have fallen in a portable toilet and absorbed blue dye into its fur. Henry Kacprzyk, a curator at the Pittsburgh Zoo, said that the coloration was very unusual for a mammal.