Squirrels are annoying sometimes. They often just freely roam around your yard and burrow acorns in your lawn. Sometimes, they’ll even intrude in your home, leaving some bite marks on your furniture.
Although squirrels can be a nuisance, one man decided to treat these critters as friends even though they kept stealing food in his bird feeder.
Mark Rober is an internet personality who usually makes YouTube videos featuring hilarious and informative vlogs that are mostly focused on science. Squirrels usually visit him and his wife at home, taking bird seeds from the containers he set up around his yard.
Every day, the same squirrels come and go. Rober became friends with these squirrels and even gave them names.
One day, he thought of an idea to make it challenging for these squirrels to get what they want.
While in lockdown, many of us have been consumed with boredom, and sometimes, weird or creative ideas pop up in our heads. Perhaps, this was what happened to Rob when he thought of this clever yet absurd idea.
He worked on an obstacle course for the squirrels, and some stages were inspired by Wipeout and American Ninja Warrior obstacle courses from TV. Dangerous as that sounds, with Rober’s mechanical engineering experience, he made sure each obstacle was harmless to the animals.
Introducing the Squirrel Ninja Obstacle Course.
Soon after Rober set up his obstacle course, squirrels came to grab some bird seeds for themselves. However, as they stepped inside Rober’s backyard, there were more platforms than they were used to.
As they could not just climb to any platform they want because of the slippery substance that Rober put on the poles, they had to find another way in. It took them some time, but they finally found the pole that they could all climb, and that was exactly towards the first stage of the obstacle course.
The squirrels attempt to get their prize.
Since Rober found out that the squirrels loved walnuts more than anything, he decided to put them in the reward box placed on the final panel. The first stage that the squirrels passed through was an unstable bridge built like a tightrope.
Most of the squirrels couldn’t find a stable foothold when walking on the bridge, so they just flew toward the next course.
The next stage was a little maze box that the squirrels had no problem clearing.
On the third stage, they had to pass through the Wipeout-inspired obstacle to get to the fourth one, where a tempting stuffed toy held a real walnut. Once they stayed too long on the platform, the piston would activate and throw them off the stage. Afterward, they went to the slinky stage.
Reaching the tourist trap stage, the squirrels had an adorable photoshoot before going to the final stage.
As they reached the second-to-last stage, they had a fun photoshoot while placing their heads on the painted board to grab the walnut. Only one squirrel refused to fit its head onto the hole and acted silly while being spotted on the camera. Finally, they jumped across multiple slippery platforms to get their well-deserved reward – walnuts.
“All good things should come to an end.”
That’s what Rober said when he took down the squirrels’ obstacle course. Of course, it was for the greater good of the squirrels so they would not rely on Rober’s free food. Instead, he replaced it with a squirrel bench that dispenses just a small amount of nuts every day. Rober’s innovative mind gave the squirrels a rewarding challenge and a fun video that we get to see.
Watch the whole video below!
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