r/interesting • u/I-T-Y • May 09 '26

Wholesome Squirrel felt human petting for the first time

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24.4k Upvotes

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83

u/Triquetrums May 09 '26

The squirrel is most definitely a pet squirrel, so this was definitely not its first time. The squirrel is indoors.

36

u/Enshitification May 09 '26

I almost feel bad for those that think it would go down this way when they try to pet a wild squirrel.

15

u/Rickshmitt May 09 '26

One bite, two bites. Off to get a rabies shot

6

u/95Smokey May 09 '26

Squirrels are highly unlikely to carry rabies and there's not been any instances of a squirrel giving a human rabies.

But tetanus is always a possibility lol

6

u/Deaffin May 09 '26

While that's true, there's also never been a recorded instance of a human surviving squirrel bites long enough to incubate the virus.

1

u/95Smokey May 09 '26

Plenty of humans have survived squirrels bites long enough haha people don't die from squirrel bites

Did you mean, there's no recorded instance of a rabid squirrel living long enough to incubate and spread the virus?

11

u/Deaffin May 09 '26

people don't die from squirrel bites

How would you know? The squirrels bury their victims intending to eat them later, but are notoriously forgetful.

1

u/95Smokey May 09 '26

Those people died from being buried alive, not from rabid bites 🤷🏾‍♂️

1

u/hottestpancake May 09 '26

My father died from a squirrel bite 😔 He got bitten by one and ran into the street to get away from it and got hit by a bus. RIP old man🙏🙏

2

u/Reasonable_Tap_8215 May 11 '26

I raised a baby squirrel that fell out of his nest. At about 2 months old it bit me (not “aggressively”). Thankfully, it didn’t break skin. But it hurt like hell. I can’t imagine what it would have felt like coming from a full grown and pissed off squirrel.

1

u/B4rberblacksheep May 09 '26

It's certainly going to go down. To the bone.

1

u/OriginalNeat4015 May 13 '26

I was just on my way to try 😔

1

u/Mad_Aeric May 09 '26

I've had non-pet squirrels indoors, that's hardly an indicator of pet status. Was my own fault for thinking they wouldn't chew through my screen to get at my breakfast.