Albino squirrel drives attention to SF golf course
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO)—It's the week of the Masters, which has many people focused on the golf stars. However, something else has become the celebrity at a Sioux Falls golf course.
Spring has sprung at Prairie Green Golf Course in Sioux Falls. While practicing your swing, you'll probably notice some critters sharing the space.
'This summer, we will have Prairie Green Audubon International certified, which is a big deal. So, basically what that means is, we have to document all the wildlife that's on the course, anything we bring in, building habitats for them and such. So, we've got a lot of different critters out on the golf course,' Sioux Falls Golf general manager Cat Clark said.
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Earlier this season, someone noticed a special guest at the golf course– an albino squirrel, who has since been named Q-tip by the Sioux Falls Park and Rec Department.
Up until Tuesday, Prairie Green Head PGA Professional Chris Lane didn't know if he quite believed that Q-tip existed.
'Without seeing it, no, I didn't believe it. Everybody's been talking about it. But I never seen him,' Lane said.
That was until Wednesday when he saw the white squirrel firsthand and took these photos.
'We were just getting ready for the morning. I just happened to look, to the west here a little bit and over the driving range and thought it was a shopping bag blowing across the driving range there, and it stopped a couple times,' Lane said. 'So I just figured out that that had to be him. So I cruised over there with a golf cart to see if I could get a little bit closer look. And sure enough, it was him.'
We decided to go out and search for Q-tip ourselves, and the little critter made an appearance. It seemed that he was as curious of us, as we were of him.
While Q-tip has proven to be elusive, you might just be able to catch a glimpse while you're on the course.
'It's 1 in 100,000 as the chances of a white squirrel. So, you know, it's just one more white thing to chase out here other than a golf ball, right? So, you know, it's cool. We'll keep him happy and healthy here on the course as long as he likes to stay. And, hopefully, he brings us some good luck out here, too,' Clark said.
In order to catch a glimpse of Q-tip, you do need to be golfing there.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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