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Pinto Bean was an eastern gray squirrel on the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who was renowned and named for his rare piebald pattern. He died in Champaign on October 8, 2022, presumably due to a motor vehicle collision. Pinto Bean has been called a "minor celebrity" and a "grassroots, unofficial mascot" for the university. During a home
Pinto Bean was found dead on the side of Springfield Avenue in Champaign on October 8, 2022. His cause of death was presumably a vehicular collision. News of his death quickly spread on the r/UIUC subreddit and other social media. One user, Champaign resident Clark Jackson, retrieved the squirrel's remains and delivered them to a taxidermist in Bloomington in an effort to preserve the squirrel.
As of March 27, 2023, Pinto Bean's taxidermied remains are on display at the Forbes Natural History Building on the south side of the university's campus.
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
game against Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, a tribute to Pinto Bean was shown on the jumbotron at Memorial Stadium.
Pattern
A male eastern gray squirrel, Pinto Bean was named for his distinctive mixture of gray fur with patches of unpigmented white fur, which resembled the appearance of pinto beans. According toIllinois Natural History Survey
The Illinois Natural History Survey (abbreviated as INHS), located on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in Champaign, Illinois, is an active research institution with over 200 staff members, and it maintains one of the ...
director Eric Shauber, this was the result of a rare genetic mutation that affected where melanin
Melanin (; from el, μέλας, melas, black, dark) is a broad term for a group of natural pigments found in most organisms. Eumelanin is produced through a multistage chemical process known as melanogenesis, where the oxidation of the amino ...
was distributed in the squirrel's body. Shauber said the mutation was rare enough to assume that there was only one such squirrel on campus.
Death and taxidermy
Pinto Bean was found dead on the side of Springfield Avenue in Champaign on October 8, 2022. His cause of death was presumably a vehicular collision. News of his death quickly spread on the r/UIUC subreddit and other social media. One user, Champaign resident Clark Jackson, retrieved the squirrel's remains and delivered them to a taxidermist in Bloomington in an effort to preserve the squirrel.
As of March 27, 2023, Pinto Bean's taxidermied remains are on display at the Forbes Natural History Building on the south side of the university's campus.
Tributes
DuringIllinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
's October 15, 2022, home football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
game against Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, the jumbotron at Memorial Stadium displayed a tribute to Pinto Bean at halftime. The screen displayed an image of Pinto Bean, accompanied by the message: "RIP to Pinto Bean the Squirrel, forever in our hearts."
The Illini Wildlife and Conservation Club held a moment of silence in remembrance of Pinto Bean. Students and community members shared many tributes and eulogies on r/UIUC.
See also
* Chicago rat hole *Tommy Tucker (squirrel)
Tommy Tucker (before/in 1942 – June 25, 1949) was a male Eastern gray squirrel who became a celebrity in the United States, touring the country wearing women's fashions while performing tricks, entertaining children, and selling war bonds. A ''W ...
* Squirrels on college campuses
References
{{University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 2022 animal deaths Individual animals in the United States Individual squirrels Individual taxidermy exhibits University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign