Never Underestimate the Power of a Squirrel

There is a well-known social media personality overseas named Mark Longo. He kept a small squirrel named P'Nut. The pet was adored by internet users and was unquestionably an online celebrity in its own right. This October, their Instagram account had 500,000 followers.

In 2017, 27-year-old Mark came across the little squirrel while driving in downtown Manhattan, New York. Its mother had been killed by a car. The baby squirrel was still tiny and its eyes had not fully opened.

The squirrel climbed onto Mark's leg. He named it P'Nut and took it home.

After P'Nut had spent some time at his home, Mark released it in his backyard. A few days later, however, it returned, missing half its tail.

Mark thought P'Nut might be safer in his home, so it stayed—and ended up living there for seven years. During that time, Mark opened an Instagram account for P'Nut, attracting a large following. He even met his current wife through the account.

This April, they also established a nonprofit together and created a large sanctuary, taking in more than 300 animals, including “cats, dogs, horses, goats, sheep, donkeys, and pigs.” Half of the sanctuary's funding came from their social media company, and the other half from donors.

The turning point came on October 30 this year. After searching Mark's home in Pine City, Chemung County, New York, for five hours, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation took away P'Nut and a small raccoon. Under New York State law, wild animals cannot be kept as pets.

The next day, P'Nut and the raccoon were euthanized. The reason given was that they had bitten staff, and to establish whether they carried rabies, the staff first had to kill them...

The incident immediately caused a huge reaction in the United States, with many people protesting. It even created an uproar on the Chinese internet.

(This trending Chinese post contains many errors. For example, the story took place in New York State, not New York City.)

Because New York is a deep-blue state with a Democratic governor, Republicans made full use of the incident. It greatly affected internet users' emotional sympathies, and some called it “the final straw that broke the Democrats' back.”

Trump and the squirrel

Musk and the squirrel

The squirrel and the raccoon

This story tells us never to underestimate the power of a squirrel!

In fact, Massachusetts also has an internet-famous rodent named Nibi. This beaver is so comfortable around humans that it is unsuited to life in the wild. Yet it is a wild animal, and keeping wildlife violates local law—a situation much like P'Nut's.

To handle the matter appropriately, state legislators wrote to the governor, and a court held a hearing. After discussion, the governor of Massachusetts personally granted Nibi an “educational animal” permit, allowing it to continue living with humans.

Massachusetts is also a deep-blue state with a Democratic governor. If they could handle this matter properly, why couldn't New York? Did they really euthanize a pet with 500,000 followers without considering the consequences at all? And after leaving it alone for seven years, why suddenly investigate wildlife now?

Some say Mark Longo was targeted by a Democratic enforcement raid because he supported Republicans... I don't know how true that claim is. But that no longer matters. Before an election, anything can be used as a pretext to make a political point, and the Democrats have reaped what they sowed.

A single squirrel put the Democrats on the defensive. Although it was not a decisive factor, it did substantially affect the election result. It really gives one pause.

What do you think? Feel free to discuss it in the comments.