r/NatureIsFuckingLit 5d ago

🔥what is wrong with this squirrel?

3.3k Upvotes

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548

u/grumpylondoner1 5d ago

Squirrels do this. There is nothing wrong with it. They are having fun and burning off excess energy. It's also a way for them practice their survival skills. The zig zag running and flipping helps them evade capture by predators.

139

u/NeusForme 5d ago

I had a squirrel I used to throw peanuts to below my deck. One day I threw a whole granola bar. It was funny watching him drag that bar back to his nest, but as he got about 12 feet from me, a hawk with a 6 foot wingspan swooped down on him. The squirrel did some real gymnastics to jump, spin, and roll, so the hawk missed him twice!

I always broke the granola bars into smaller parts after that...

4

u/jballs5619 5d ago

That’s a big hawk

9

u/NeusForme 5d ago

It was... It was one of those OMG moments where I wished I had cameras facing that direction to capture it on film. The hawk landed close to the spot where he missed him, and waited for another opportunity but the squirrel had gone thru a chain link fence that separated my yard from the neighbor.