THIS is the moment a drunk squirrel was caught on camera struggling to stand after eating fermented pears left on a picnic table outside a house in Minnesota.
Footage taken last Friday, which has been viewed more than 1.5 million times, shows the woodland creature perched on a miniature picnic table outside a house in Inver Grove Heights.
The squirrel is spotted munching on corn and seeds when it suddenly gets a dazed, petrified look in its eyes and leans oddly to the side.
The tipsy animal uses the edge of the little blue bowl to suddenly catch its balance, but it begins to drift backwards again while staring into the sky.
After the strange episode, the creature eventually finds its way back to the bowl of food and continues eating.
The owner of the house, Kathleen Morlok, said the saga began when she cleaned out her refrigerator on Friday.
“I found a very old bag of pears in the bottom. Instead of throwing them away, I threw two onto our deck for Hamlet,” Kathleen told DailyMail.com, referring to the family’s pet pig.
He kept leaning back while eating. That is when it occurred to me that the pears must have fermented in the bottom of the fridge.”
Kathleen Morlok
“I did not realize that he left one under the table outside until I saw the little red squirrel happily grab the whole thing and run away with it into the trees.”
Kathleen decided to put the rest of the old pears outside for the squirrel after sensing how much the creature was enjoying them.
But Kathleen said the animal “seemed very off” when it returned later that day.
“He kept leaning back while eating,” she said.
“That is when it occurred to me that the pears must have fermented in the bottom of the fridge.”
Fermentation occurs when food undergoes chemical changes which can convert glucose, fructose and sucrose into alcohol.
Leaving the pears in the bottom of the refrigerator for a long period of time may have led to fermentation.
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Kathleen said she threw away the rest of the pears after witnessing the bizarre drunk episode.
She said: “Poor little guy… I was so worried about him all night!”
But the strange experience didn’t deter the squirrel, who arrived the next morning for a “hangover breakfast” at the feeder, Kathleen said.
