Backyard Wildlife NY - Residents of Staten Island's Dongan Hills section get a charge out of celebrity squirrel

Residents of Staten Island's Dongan Hills section get a charge out of celebrity squirrel

Published: Wednesday, June 06, 2012, 11:35 AM Updated: Wednesday, June 06, 2012, 12:00 PM

By Sarah Buccellato/Staten Island Advance

Photo courtesy of Helene ArcuriZappy the squirrel, who is assumed to have come into contact with a power line, was first seen by Helene Arcuri of Dongan Hills about two weeks ago.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Have you seen this squirrel?

His name is Zappy, and he has become quite the celebrity in Dongan Hills.

Resident Helene Arcuri first spotted this strange-looking creature about two weeks ago and was able to snap this picture of him on her phone before he scurried off. She has been on the lookout for him ever since.

His singed skin and fried fur (what little remains of it) led Ms. Arcuri to come up with his name, since she believes Zappy was electrocuted.

"He's so odd-looking that people don't believe he's real," Ms. Arcuri said. That is, until neighbors catch a glimpse of Zappy for themselves.

As it turns out, the critter's behavior is equally as bizarre as his freakish physique. Ms. Arcuri's sister recently caught him eating penne pasta, and he has no qualms about approaching humans.

"The neighbors were worried about him at first and even called 311," Ms. Arcuri said.

But she's not concerned about Zappy's posing a threat.

"He has not been aggressive," she said. "He's just odd."

http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/06/celebrity_squirrel_has_an_appe.html

 

Poor thing looks like he has mange.

 

I don't know how such a tiny critter can get zapped so hard that it fries off his fur and singes his skin yet it gets to live to eat a nut another day

I would think he would be char-grilled! Maybe he does have some sort of squirrelly skin condition.