Image: Plymouth Police Department
Police Officer Andrew Whelan was busy directing traffic in Plymouth, Massachusetts on the Atlantic coast of the US when a flying squirrel laded on him. His colleagues are now joking that Whelan is planning to keep the animal as a companion pet.
I somehow never knew that these cute flying - or, rather, gliding - animals are present throughout much of the US, including all along the East Coast. I guess if I have ever seen them I just assumed them to just be regular squirrels as they are similar in appearance. But they are a divergent branch of evolution.
References
Plymouth police officer gets visit from flying squirrel while directing traffic * archive
CBS Boston, 27 November 2022
Flying Squirrels
NWF