PHOTOS: White squirrels spotted in central Ohio

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A scurry of white squirrels was spotted frolicking by a mailbox recently in central Ohio.

An NBC4 viewer named Debbie said she has seen these squirrels in Pickerington's Summerfield subdivision twice.

According to Debbie, the squirrels are usually out and about mid-morning and there are a total of four.

"I live in Eastchester Sub across the street and I used to see one all the time," Debbie went on to explain. "They were just playing. Really neat."

According to the website "Untamed Science," white squirrels are generally eastern gray squirrels that have white coats due to various types of genetic mutations.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources website lists the eastern gray squirrel as "common" in Ohio.

An article on Georgia's Department of Natural Resources site points out that white squirrels are either known as albino or leucistic. Albino squirrels have no dark pigments on their bodies and distinctive red eyes. Squirrels with white coats and dark eyes are called leucistic.

Wikipedia defines the term leucistic as "a wide variety of conditions that result in the partial loss of pigmentation in an animal causing white, pale, or patchy coloration of the skin, hair, feathers, scales, or cuticles, but not the eyes."

The GDNR article also explains that, "Scientists believe that occasionally squirrels are born without the genes that enable their bodies to produce normal amounts of a chemical known as melanin. A squirrel’s hair color is determined by the amount of melanin in its hair cells. Those with little melanin are white."

Have you seen white squirrels in your neighborhood? Send NBC4 your pictures or video and tell us what you saw.