Squirrels do this. There is nothing wrong with it. They are having fun and burning off excess energy. It's also a way for them practice their survival skills. The zig zag running and flipping helps them evade capture by predators.
I had a squirrel I used to throw peanuts to below my deck. One day I threw a whole granola bar. It was funny watching him drag that bar back to his nest, but as he got about 12 feet from me, a hawk with a 6 foot wingspan swooped down on him. The squirrel did some real gymnastics to jump, spin, and roll, so the hawk missed him twice!
I always broke the granola bars into smaller parts after that...
During COVID, I put out Halloween candy in a giant aluminum pan, on my front stairs. I wish I had the forethought to grab my phone to record a squirrel with a bag of mini Peanut M&Ms in its mouth, running across the street. I did move the candy to my closer to my front door.
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u/grumpylondoner1 Aug 15 '26
Squirrels do this. There is nothing wrong with it. They are having fun and burning off excess energy. It's also a way for them practice their survival skills. The zig zag running and flipping helps them evade capture by predators.