A man was shocked to find his Christmas lights being stolen – by a SQUIRREL.
Brandon Eberle stepped out of his house to take a picture of a bird, but was amazed to see the critter with a bright red bulb in its mouth.
The 35-year-old from Southeastern Massachusetts managed to snap a few pictures of the cheeky thief before it scampered off with its festive haul.
He explains: “I had the camera out as I had heard a bird call – a Northern Flicker – earlier while taking the dog out and wanted to be ready if it visited the feeder.
“I happened to see the squirrel start chewing on the bulb, took the pictures, then realised he had already stripped half of the bulbs from the strand.
“I was annoyed, because I had just put them up and my daughter enjoys them, but didn’t want the squirrel to get hurt.
“I chose to remove the remains of the stripped lights, plus an undamaged strand in the same area he hadn’t got to yet, as I didn’t want him getting any more of them.
“Unfortunately, the lights don’t work; he nibbled the wirings where the bulb was connected to remove them and, in some cases, chewed through the entire cord. The wire was in 15 separate pieces when I removed it. He had absolutely no trouble getting through the wire.
“I watched him carry a few bulbs off, and he takes them up a tree about 50′ deep into the woods on my property, but I don’t see a nest up there so he’s either stashing them in a hollow in the tree or moving across the canopy.
“I checked under the hood of my car just in case, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he stashed some in the new flowerbeds my wife and I turned over this previous summer.
“We’ve been thinking about making some popcorn garland to replace the lights, but the weather’s been lousy and we had company this weekend, so it probably won’t happen before the holiday.”
