Millions Watch Hilarious Moment Squirrel ‘Outsmarts’ Man on Nature Walk

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Rachael O’Connor is a Newsweek Life & Trends reporter based in Leeds, U.K. Her focus is on reporting trends from across the internet and all corners of the world. Rachael joined Newsweek in 2024 from Metro.co.uk and previously worked for The Irish Post. She is a graduate of the University of Galway. Languages: English, Irish. You can get in touch with Rachael by emailing r.oconnor@newsweek.com.

Rachael O’Connor

Life and Trends Reporter

🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.

A couple were exploring the wilderness on a hike through a national park when they stopped for a snack, only to be outsmarted by the local wildlife.

Michelle, 50, and her boyfriend Todd, 55, were visiting Banff National Park in Canada when they had an unusual interaction with wildlife that has led them to go viral.

As Michelle, from Los Angeles, explained to Newsweek: “We had just taken a boat ride around a lake and decided to take a walk. We found a nice little spot with a lake view to relax a moment, have a snack and some water.

“We had been watching the squirrel for a few minutes. Next thing we knew, he was on the bench next to Todd—that’s when I started filming.”

In a video posted to Michelle’s TikTok account, @michelleandrade105, viewed more than 2 million times, she wrote: “When a squirrel outsmarts you.”

It showed the curious rodent climbing right up onto Todd’s lap, where he had a nature bar on his hand.

“You want some? Okay,” he said, and broke off a little bite for the critter.

But as he was doing so, the squirrel grabbed the entire bar in its paws and mouth, and sprinted away back to safety—leaving Todd with the crumb he had intended to give the squirrel.

Michelle bursts out laughing, and Todd immediately admits defeat, as he eats the tiny crumb leftover from the thief. The pair then watch the squirrel, now sitting a few feet from them, as it devours the bar.

“He took his snacky snack! Only in Canada,” Michelle wrote in the caption along with laughing emojis.

She told Newsweek: “In the blink of an eye, he got right upon his backpack and snatched the bar right from his hand. Took it to the ground, and ate it right in front of us.

“As if to say, ‘it’s mine now, buddy.’ Cute little fella.”

TikTok users were in stitches, awarding the video more than 300,000 likes, as one commenter joked: “It’s not his fault you didn’t break it evenly.”

“He thought you were pinching off what you wanted,” another laughed, as another defended the squirrel: “If you divide it, the other person gets to pick their piece first. Squirrel knows the rules.”

A debate also raged in the comments about whether the animal was a squirrel or a chipmunk, particularly as the rodent’s striped body is similar to that of a chipmunk.

Banff National Park is home to golden-mantled ground squirrels, which are described by the National Park Service as often being mistaken for a chipmunk. However, golden-mantled ground squirrels are a larger size, have a shorter tail and a more robust body, and their stripes do not extend onto the sides of their head.

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