El curioso caso de la ardilla violeta

Os cuento:

En resumidas cuentas, una pareja en EEUU encuentra una ardilla morada,la cojen, le hacen fotos, las mandan al canal del tiempo, y la sueltan. A mi me suena a montaje fotográfico en toda regla, pero resulta que hay varios motivos para que haya ocurrido esto.

Aun hay muy poco sobre este tema en internet, y la mayoria de lo que me encuentro es más de lo mismo.

Os voy a dejar unos links para que lo veais por vosotros mismos y voy a copiar y a pegar directamente de la web:

http://www.planetacurioso.com/2012/02/14/el-enigma-del-origen-de-la-ardilla-violeta-encontrada-en-pensilvania/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+planetacuriosocom+%28Curiosidades%29

El pasado viernes los usuarios de internet de Estados Unidos se mostraron fascinados por la inusual ardilla de color violeta que fue capturada y liberada por una pareja de Jersey Shore, Pensilvania.

 La ardilla violeta fue capturada por Percy y Connie Emert, quienes habían colocado trampa para proteger a sus pájaros. En una entrevista dijeron: “Era verdaderamente violeta. La gente cree que la teñimos, pero juro que era violeta cuando la encontramos”.

Ahora bien, los editores del sitio accuweather.com, entrevistaron a expertos que creen que el color se debe a la caída del animal “en tinta o pintura violeta”.

 Hay quienes dice que el color se parece mucho al color rosa de Tiro, un bromuro de forma natural que se encuentra en los moluscos, pero que rara vez se encuentra en los animales terrestres. Lo más probable, según algunos es que el agua estuviera contaminada.

También se dijo que la ardilla se revolcó en un cubo de arándanos. Y lo más fácil es que la pareja haya pintado la ardilla o retocado la foto y la envió a ABC News, escribió Jana en el blog de ABC News.

En cambio al ardilla cuenta su versión en su cuenta en Facebook y Twitter, donde afirma que “su mamá era roja y su papá azul”.
Lo cierto es que la ardilla se ve muy curiosa, ¿que opinas?

A la ardilla le han hecho un facebook y un twitter:

 https://www.facebook.com/ThePurpleSquirrel?sk=info

https://twitter.com/#!/purplsqurl

Este es el enlace a la página de accuweather, la web del canal del tiempo donde esta pareja envió las fotos. http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/purple-squirrel-found-in-penns/61308

A Pennsylvania couple trapped, of all things, a purple squirrel on Sunday. Percy and Connie Emert, of Jersey Shore, Pa. caught the unusual animal when trying to keep birds safe from the rodents.

"We have bird feeders out in our yard, and the squirrels are constantly into them," said Jersey Shore resident Connie Emert. "My husband traps them and then sets them free elsewhere so they don't get into your bird feeders."

Emert said she had spotted a purple squirrel on her property but no one believed her.

"I kept telling my husband I saw a purple one out in the yard. 'Oh sure you did' he kept telling me," said Emert. "Well, he checked the trap around noon on Sunday and sure enough, there it was."

"The squirrel's been eating peanuts. That's what we used in the trap," she continued.

The Emerts do not know why the squirrel is purple.

"We have no idea whatsoever. It's really purple. People think we dyed it, but honestly, we just found it and it was purple."

"We put him in an extra big cage so he has room to run around, and we'll release him soon. In the meantime, all the neighbors have been by to see him. No one can believe we have a purple squirrel!"

The Emerts released the squirrel back into the wild on Tuesday. Right now, no one knows where the animal is.

"We're not going to do a manhunt to look for the purple squirrel," Harold Cole, wildlife conservation officer for the Pa. Game Commission said.

Some AccuWeather.com employees have their own theories. Expert Senior Meteorologist Henry Margusity said, "The squirrel could have been looking for somewhere warm and fallen into a port-a-potty or something similar."

AccuWeather.com Expert Senior Meteorologist Dan Kottlowski has a different idea. "Squirrels get into all kinds of stuff. He could have gotten into some purple ink or purple paint at some point."

Purple ink was the theory when people saw a purple squirrel called Pete in the U.K. in 2008. There were no theories when another purple squirrel was spotted in 1997.

John Griffin, Director of Humane Wildlife Services for the Humane Society, said "It might be possible that there was some introduction of a product into the nesting material that imparted this color to the fur, or accidental immersion/contact with a dying or coloring compound during (its) lifetime." He also said "The color (of the squirrel) does not appear to be even which would make me think that it is likely to be the natural color of the fur."

Krish Pillai, a professor at Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania, commented that "This is not good at all. That color looks very much like Tyrian purple. It is a natural organobromide compound seen in molluscs and rarely found in land animals. The squirrel (possibly) has too much bromide in its system."

Jeff Moore, another Facebook commenter, suggested that "Someone from PETA threw paint on it."

Ruth Dixon, said that she had a rabbit with purple fur. "I think it's a genetic foul-up. The rabbit had other problems worse than his color."

Local squirrel enthusiast Erik Stewart said, "If it has white hair on it at all, it's probably not dyed. I've had multiple squirrels as pets, though, and I've certainly never seen a purple one. I've seen dark red, light red, gray and brown, but never purple. Also, I've tried to dye my dog before, and trust me it didn't look like this. Though, I've only seen a picture, so your guess is as good as mine."