A purple squirrel? You must be nuts!
This purple squirrel has left pupils and staff at a school scratching their heads in disbelief.
Pupils and staff at Meoncross School in Stubbington are baffled by the appearance of the brightly-coloured creature, which has been spotted several times in the school grounds.
Theories include a guess that it might have come across a store of paint or dye, or that it is the result of two different species of squirrels breeding.
But even animal experts at the RSPCA have to admit they have no real idea how the squirrel managed to get its unusual coat.
Dr Mike Edwards, an English teacher at the school in Burnt House Lane, said: 'I was sitting in my classroom one day and looked out the window and saw it sitting on the fence just outside. I had to do a double take.
'Since then it's been a bit of a regular at the school, everyone's seen it.
'We thought it might have been paint or something but then when you look at it up close, it's an all over coat, not in patches like you'd expect if it had been near some paint.
'Its fur actually looks purple all the way through. It's an absolute mystery.'
The squirrel is often seen going into the attic of one of the school's buildings so the caretaker decided to see if there were any clues up there.
He did find some old printer toners – one of which was purple – but people who have seen it do not believe this would explain the squirrel's even colour.
Since the squirrel made its first appearance, pupils, staff and parents have been trying to solve the mystery.
They have contacted vets and even e-mailed TV nature expert Bill Oddie to see if an explanation could be found.
Pictures of the squirrel were sent to the RSPCA and the charity's wildlife photography experts at first thought it was down to bad colour balance in the photograph.
But when it was explained how many people had seen the squirrel and could confirm it was purple to the naked eye, even RSPCA staff were baffled.
Helen Briggs from the charity said: 'We have never heard of anything like this before. Black squirrels have been seen, but not purple.'
She added: 'The only explanation we can think of is that it has got near some paint or something.
'But then even that doesn't explain the all-over coat. It's very bizarre.'
>> Can you help get to the bottom of the mystery of the purple squirrel?
Please e-mail newsdesk@thenews.co.uk or call us on (023) 92 622118
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Portsmouth
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 15 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 13 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 22 mph
Wind direction: East
