Rare and Strange Animals in the Smokies and Beyond

From Blue Ghosts to White Squirrels, you never know what you might find in the mountains

From Big Foot to Feral People, there are plenty of tall tales of strange creatures that live in the shadows of the Great Smoky Mountains and surrounding forests. But as they say, the truth can be stranger than fiction. There are several odd, bizarre but real-life creatures that live in the area.

They may not have the same cultural footprint as the various fabled ghouls, goblins and haints, but they have the advantage of being real and spectacular.

These are some of the strange animals you can find in and around the Smokies:

White squirrels

Located southwest of Asheville in the hauntingly named Transylvania County, Brevard is a small college town on the edge of the Pisgah National Forest. While it may not have any vampires to speak of, it does have a creature that is baffling in its origin and existence.

The white squirrels of Brevard have become famous at least regionally. In fact, in Brevard they don’t celebrate Groundhog Day, they have White Squirrel Day. The now retired Pisgah Pete was known for predicting early spring and Super Bowl winners. His replacement Pisgah Piper is carrying on the tradition.

What are the white squirrels? They are a white variant of the Eastern Gray Squirrel. So, they are not albinos. They have dark – not red eyes – and some have darker streaks in their fur.

Where did they come from? No one knows for sure. But legend has it that a traveling carnival truck crashed near an orchard in Madison, Florida. And the pair of white squirrels escaped. They were caught by the uncle of young Brevard resident Barbara Mull Lang. He kept them and brought them to his young niece as a Christmas present. The squirrels were pets for some time. But one escaped and the other was eventually let go.

Despite the disadvantage of being bright white and thus easily spotted by predators, the white squirrels have thrived. They now make up a third of the Brevard squirrel population. The squirrels are protected by town ordinance. If you want to see them, Brevard’s parks and spots around the college are frequent white squirrel hangouts.

Where else are white squirrels found?

There are a handful of other communities in the United States that have white squirrel populations. It’s unclear how many of those came from carnival truck crashes.

Is it worth going to Brevard just to see the white squirrels? Probably not, but it is a worthy inclusion in a larger trip around North Carolina. Brevard is only about half an hour from Hendersonville.

Want to learn more about white squirrels? Check out the White Squirrel Institute.

Blue Ghosts

The synchronous fireflies of the mountains get all the pub. However, there are more variations to mountain lightning bugs than coordinated butt lighting.

Phausis reticulata, better known as the Blue Ghost firefly, is a rare species of lightning bug that lives only in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. They are found in the forests around Asheville, NC. The Blue Ghosts are so called because as you may have guessed, their bioluminescent light appears blueish white – at least from a distance.

But at closer range, the light is more traditional firefly colors with a tinge of blue. Also, the males of the species emit a continuous light, not flashing like other firefly species. The females of the species are flightless. Therefore, the males will fly low to the ground in search of mates, making the view of dozens – if not more – of illuminated ghostly blue lightning bugs a rare sight.

If you want to see the Blue Ghosts for yourself, there are several private locations that offer access as well as guided tours during mating season, but spots sell out.

Spectators are warned that the Blue Ghosts are extremely light sensitive. They will get spooked even by the glow of a cell phone. If you’re using a flashlight to navigate the forest at night, a red-light filter is recommended.

Hellbenders

The Smokies are quite famously a Shangri-La for salamanders. Known as the salamander capital of the world, the amphibians are the majority of vertebrate animals in the park – including human visitors.

Most of the park’s salamanders are small, and innocuous things. I’m not overly fond of the red salamander because I find that shade of red unsettling on a living creature. But worse than the red salamanders are the Eastern Hellbenders.

Despite the name, the Hellbender is harmless unless you count the heart-attack inducing shock of running across one in the wild.  Why are they so shocking? The adults of the species can reach nearly 16 inches in length and can weigh up to 5.5 pounds. A little, tiny salamander = cute. A giant salamander bigger and heavier than a chihuahua = freakish and terrifying.

Living amongst the rocks in the rivers and streams of the mountains, the Hellbender doesn’t usually swim. It uses its toe pads to walk along the creek bed. Imagine wading through a cool mountain stream, enjoying a refreshing dip and coming across flat-bodied amphibian the size of shih tzu with beady dorsal eyes, slimy skin and thick folds of skin traveling down its side. It is the stuff of nightmares.

If you do encounter a Hellbender – or any other salamander in the wild, they should not be handled. The oils and other substances from our skin can prove fatal to the salamander. This is because they breathe through their skin which is incredibly unsettling if you think about it too long.

Long-tailed weasel

If you’re a member of Generation X as I am, you learned a few things about the world each Saturday morning that didn’t turn out to be entirely accurate. For instance, quicksand – as has been mentioned by so many comedians – is not as prevalent as one might think based on its ubiquity as a plot device across dozens of cartoon properties.

Mysteries that need to be solved by civilian groups of teens, kids or talking dogs are far less frequent in real life. And – unless you own a rural chicken coop – weasels aren’t as much of a nuisance as you’ve been led to believe.

The truth is I’ve never seen a weasel in the wild. That’s not surprising as their numbers in the mountains – despite being home to several weasel species – are believed to be small. The rough number of weasels in the park – not including the people who like to carve their initials in historic cabins – is believed to be small. And they are not tracked by the park service.

The subset of long-tailed weasels is even harder to find. They like woodlands and thickets, preferably near water where they can catch small mammals for food. Measuring from 11 to 17 inches – roughly the same length as the Hellbender but much lighter – the long-tailed weasels are recognizable by their long tails. Active day and night, they can be spotted after dark by their eyes that glow emerald green in the glare of a light.

They’re not danger to humans unless you get too close or corner them. They can scratch and bite. If you do see one, leave it alone.

Spruce-fir moss spider

This endangered species of spider lives up in the high mountains where it likes the moss that grows on rocks under the cover of the forest. Having been found at Mount LeConte and Kuwohi, it may already be gone from Sevier County.

The world’s smallest tarantula, the red-bodied spider isn’t known to be venomous to humans. Though, again, you shouldn’t try to interact with one. The widespread death of Fraser Firs at the hands of the wooly adelgid in the forest has destroyed much of the spiders’ habitat.

What do you think about these rare creatures? Let us know in the comments!