WICHITA — You may have noticed them tiptoeing in branches of trees, along high lines or scampering across streets in front of cars: squirrels with receding hairlines.
Increasing numbers of balding squirrels.
In Wichita.
And Salina.
And wherever there are large populations of squirrels.
The hairlines are the start of the classic symptoms of notoedric mange, said Charlie Cope, wildlife biologist for the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks in Wichita.
The animal first experiences hair loss over the chest and shoulders, Cope said. The mange then eventually spreads over the entire body, causing the animal to become nearly bald.
It doesn't mean that the squirrels are sick but that they have mites living on their skin.
There's not much that can be done for the squirrels.
Read the complete story at kansas.com