"Vampire" Squirrel Caught On Camera

This is pretty cool, no doubt this animal looks like a cryptid:

A vampire has finally been caught on camera, although it’s rather more cuddly than you might expect.

And it’s not even definitely a vampire – the mysterious creature filmed for the first time is in fact a tufted ground squirrel, Rheithrosciurus macrotis, which has a surprising yet unconfirmed reputation for bloodthirsty behavior.

 Legends in the fluffy-tailed rodent’s native Borneo suggest it lies in wait on a low branch until a deer passes underneath, at which point it leaps straight for the poor creature’s jugular vein. Once it’s killed its prey, the squirrel is said to disembowel the deer, consuming its organs but leaving the flesh untouched.

The ears reminds me a lot of bats....

Such vampiric behavior has never been directly observed, however, and the rare squirrel is known to be partial to the nuts of the canarium tree.

One thing that can’t be disputed though is just how fluffy its tail is. Its brush is 130% the mass of its body, the largest known tail-to-body ratio of any mammal. Researchers suspect it could be used to make the animal look bigger and ward off predators. Or could it be used as a mop to hide the evidence of a brutal vampire attack?

Here's the video of this rare animal:

Video

source

Talk about click bait.

Vid doesn't work, nor does it show any vampiric action...

Legends in the fluffy-tailed rodent’s native Borneo suggest it lies in wait on a low branch until a deer passes underneath, at which point it leaps straight for the poor creature’s jugular vein. Once it’s killed its prey, the squirrel is said to disembowel the deer, consuming its organs but leaving the flesh untouched.

Embedded vid won't play for me...

Thanks for sharing

Cute little dude!

a reply to: Frocharocha

They are too cute! Thanks OP.




a reply to: Lysergic

A still from the video you can't see.

Just think of the Squirrel based horror movies they could make!

a reply to: Lysergic

You'd get a good 4 or 5 Squirrityville sequels out of it, I reckon.

"I vannnt to suck your nuts!"

Most animal mothers consume their own offspring afterbirth, which doesn't make them meat eaters, either. They do it to hide the smell from predators. Squirrels are nuts.

Could the tail be used to conceal it's shadow under moonlight? Or maybe to affect sound in some way similar to TV microphones?

originally posted by: IAMTAT
"I vannnt to suck your nuts!"

Hmmm.

originally posted by: IAMTAT
"I vannnt to suck your nuts!"

Ha ha ha brilliant.

Dont go for walks in the forest at night!

There are vampires about!

originally posted by: intrptr
Most animal mothers consume their own offspring afterbirth, which doesn't make them meat eaters, either. They do it to hide the smell from predators. Squirrels are nuts.

Tom Cruise ate it to cure his postpartum depression.

Seems like they found a chupacabra.

Much cuter than we were lead to believe.

Looks pretty vicious.

originally posted by: IAMTAT
"I vannnt to suck your nuts!"

That is so wrong! I can't stop laughing lol.

a reply to: Frocharocha
Imagine what it could do it a human. Too bad they didn't get video of it attacking a deer. That would be something to see.

originally posted by: IAMTAT
"I vannnt to suck your nuts!"

I nearly spit my wine out my nose....

a reply to: Frocharocha

The use of the word "mass" to describe the tail as being 130% larger than the body is a wrong use of the term. The word should have been "volume."