This is Sarah Wyman, you're listening to the Atlas Obscura podcast.

But some weeks ago, much like the protagonist of Moby Dick, I did find myself in New York

City. Brooklyn, to be exact, it's this insane quest of obsessive quest. For months, my colleague

Chris Naka had been telling me the story of his search for a unique mythical creature.

It is prospect park's most elusive resident. Sometimes birdwatchers spot it dashing between

tree branches, disappearing behind leaves. No one knows where it came from, nor where

it goes. It is the white whale, nay, the white squirrel of prospect park, a little white

speck, hiding somewhere among 526 acres of bushes and trees. To find it, you have to know

exactly where to look. It is not down on any map, true places never are. Let's supposed

to do that dramatically. Yeah, let's try it again. It is not down on any map, true places

never are. I think we go into the park. After this.

Come red. Good morning. How are you guys? Good.

On the morning of the quest, the Atlas Obscural White Squirrel Task Force met up outside of

prospect park. That's me. It's good to see you. Our editor, John DeLore, producer-votular

Siouxs, and our very own Captain Ahab, Chris Naka. The squirrels are most active early in

the morning. We'll see it just depends on how patient everyone is. Chris is also part

of our production team, but today you are hearing from him in his role as squirrel spotter

in chief. He's been following the white squirrel for months. He even figured out where it

lives. And he mentioned the squirrel to us in a team meeting, and we all saw his whole

face light up. If I ever come out here for a number of days and I don't see the squirrel,

I wonder if something happened to it, and that's heartbreaking to think about. Chris is the

kind of person who gets genuinely excited when he finds out there's a mouse living behind

...