Flying squirrel lands on a traffic cop in Plymouth
Image: Plymouth Police Department
Police Officer Andrew Whelan was busy directing traffic in Plymouth, Massachusetts on the Atlantic coast of the US when a flying squirrel laded on him. His colleagues are now joking that Whelan is planning to keep the animal as a companion pet.
I somehow never knew that these cute flying - or, rather, gliding - animals are present throughout much of the US, including all along the East Coast. I guess if I have ever seen them I just assumed them to just be regular squirrels as they are similar in appearance. But they are a divergent branch of evolution.
References
Plymouth police officer gets visit from flying squirrel while directing traffic * archive
CBS Boston, 27 November 2022
Flying Squirrels
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We used to have a cat that would catch and eat these things. She'd leave the tails on the porch for us to find.
I was surprised to learn that the tails are flat unlike the fluffy tails of gray or fox squirrels.
Wow!
I did not even know this species was part of our local environment here - and I have spent over 30 years on the East Coast in the US!
I think it might have been in contact with a human before :)
Definitely plenty of these little guys in the eastern US! I've had them land on me before, but it was in the woods, not in the middle of traffic!
They are colored like gray squirrels, but their overall appearance much more closely resembles that of reticulated chipmunks.
And I was just completely ignorant of the fact they even lived here!
Shame on me. 😀
cute creature)
We appreciate your work and your post has been manually curated by zoology team (oscurity,nelinoeva) on behalf of Amazing Nature Community. Keep up the good work!
Thank you!