Purple Squirrel

[gyeonghwa]

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/02/10/146717601/a-purple-squirrel-in-pennsylvania-provokes-a-host-of-theories?live=1



That's the real picture, btw. I though it was a joke when I read about it on facebook but yea it's been covered by the AP too:

"'I thought, "Nobody's going to believe me,"' [Percy] said. 'Even the inside of its ears were purple. It wasn't like it fell into something. It didn't look like that at all.'

"The animal quickly became an online sensation and even has its own Facebook page.

"After the couple released the squirrel Tuesday, Percy Emert said a state game warden came by and took samples of purple fur that the squirrel left behind inside the cage, as well as six to eight pieces of fur that Percy Emert took from the squirrel's tail before releasing it.

"'It looked like it was healthy, the only thing was that its teeth were brown,' he said."

It was found in Jersey Shore. Maybe all the radiation from orange tanned vain dudes changed them. lol

[Mira]

But will it fit in a Pokeball?

[gyeonghwa]

But will it fit in a Pokeball?

Let's do a study to find out. For lulz science of course.

[JohnE]

When they found out what turned it purple, it might start a new designer pet trend.

[Quasirodent]

Squirrels' teeth are normally brown.  Most rodents have an orangey layer on their teeth, but I'm not sure why.
Anyways.  I'm going to say food coloring of some sort.  Possibly drink mix.

Here's the story I'm basing it on:  When I was a kid, I had a bunch of fancy mice (and some other rodents) for pets, and I started breeding them as a hobby.

Some of them were albino - PEWs - and hard to tell apart.  And one of the males was VERY aggressive.  He'd slaughter any other male in his cage.  And I didn't have the heart to kill him, so I named him 'Mousolini' and kept him in his own cage.

To tell him apart from the other PEWs, I put one drop of blue food coloring on his head, thinking it would dye that spot on his fur.  Instead, he groomed himself and ate the food coloring, and his entire body turned light blue, his skin turned purple, and though it faded over time, he was blue for the rest of his life.  (also his poops were really pretty for a few days - they looked like turquoise beads. lol)

[Witchyjoshy]

Well, this is... um...

wat.

[Shane for Wax]

The squirrel got loose, btw.

[Radiation]

It was found in Jersey Shore. Maybe all the radiation from orange tanned vain dudes changed them. lol

Maybe it is indeed, radioactive

[BFDD]

My money is on Photoshop. I have taken pictures of squirrels before and they turned out with a slight tint of purple. After reading this on another site, I opened my picture in Photoshop and used the sponge tool. The tail of the squirrel turned the same color of purple as the one in the picture. Unfortunately the squirrel in my picture had a lot of brown and that turned more reddish than purple so I couldn't completely replicate the picture. If I find some time I will try to take some more pictures and replicate the picture completely. 

I also mentioned on the other site that it is odd that they don't have any video of the squirrel. All phones and cameras have video these days.

[Quasirodent]

I looked at all the photos, and I don't think it was shopped.  The coloration is too consistent in all the pictures, plus the reflections and lighting are accurate - if it is, an artist with real skill did this.

I'm sticking to my food dye theory.  There was once a green cat found, whose fur had been colored by copper oxides in the water she was drinking.

[BFDD]

All it takes is to increase the saturation of the color. The coloration would be consistent because the original color of the squirrel is consistent. And again I have to question why they only posted still photos rather than video.

If it is indeed real and they really did have a game warden take fur samples we will know soon what the cause was.