It’s National Squirrel Appreciation Day!Today we honor all the bushy-tailed, buck-toothed, high flying rodents capable of stealing our nuts…and our hearts.Squirrels are known for their versatility and their ability to steal bird seed out of any feeder, even the ones allegedly “squirrel proof”.While squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia and Africa, they’ve adapted to all sorts of environments, whether it’s the bottom of the sea (like Sandy Cheeks) or in the world of Pokemon (the electric type Parichisu is a squirrel with electric generating cheeks). To celebrate National Squirrel Appreciation Day, here’s five of our favorite squirrels in fiction:
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Scrat
The breakout star of the Ice Age films, Scrat is a sabre-toothed squirrel living in prehistoric times. Like many other squirrels in fiction, Scrat is obsessed with acorns and will gladly risk both life and limb collecting precious nuts from precarious locations. Scrat’s antics often lead to cataclysmic consequences. His pursuit of one acorn led to the division of the continents, while another acorn-related incident led to the sinking of “Scratlantis”, an island occupied entirely by sabre-toothed squirrels. While Scrat wasn’t supposed to be based off of an actual prehistoric squirrel, scientists discovered fossils of a rat-like rodent in 2011 that bore an uncanny resemblance to the animated squirrel.
Rocky the Flying Squirrel
Most flying squirrels don’t fly at all; they simply fall through the air “with style”, controlling their descent with the help of special skin folds under their arms. Rocky the Flying Squirrel, however, isn’t just capable of flying, he can soar through the air at nearly supersonic speeds. After learning how to fly at the Cedar Yorpantz Flying School, Rocky (it’s short for Rocket) can actually fly in manner similar to Superman. With the help of his good moose buddy Bullwinkle, Rocky used his flying skills primarily to thwart the nefarious plans of Pottsylvanian spies Boris and Natasha. While Rocky and Bullwinkle’s cartoon series only ran for five seasons, the show remained popular due to re-runs airing on countless local and cable TV stations over the years.
Secret Squirrel
Given their high wire antics, agile feet and dashing good looks, it’s no surprise that a squirrel became one of animation’s top secret agents. Secret Squirrel was a Hanna Barbara character who first appeared on The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show. While Atom Ant was a parody of the superhero genre (particularly Batman), Secret Squirrel was a parody of the spy genre, particularly James Bond. Wearing a specialized fedora that concealed his true identity, Secret Squirrel worked for the International Sneaky Service as Agent 000. With the help of his sidekick Morocco Mole, Secret Squirrel fought enemies like Yellow Pinkie and other Bond villain parodies.
Conker the Squirrel
Rare (the video game studio behind GoldenEye 007, BattleToads and Perfect Dark) designed Conker as a potential star for a series of kid-friendly games. However, when an early prototype for Conker’s planned Nintendo 64 game received criticism for being “too cute”, Rare retooled the game into the vulgar, dirty and irreverently hilarious Conker’s Bad Fur Day. While Conker looked like a bright-eyed and cute red squirrel, Conker’s Bad Fur Day revealed him to be a hard-drinking and greedy squirrel with a hot (rodent) girlfriend. After one particularly late night at the bar, Conker wakes up in an unknown land and embarks on an epic and bizarre adventure to try to get back home. Conker’s Bad Fur Day received rave reviews for its excellent graphics and hilarious and bittersweet storyline. Unfortunately, planned sequels starring Conker have all fizzled out, leaving the squirrel as a one hit wonder of sorts.
Tippy Toe
The second squirrel partner of Squirrel Girl, Tippy Toe befriended the rodent-taming superhero during her time with the Great Lake Avengers. While she might look like a common squirrel wearing a bow, Tippy Toe is actually a pretty savvy superhero who often provides Squirrel Girl with advice and reminds her not to be so flippant with her powers in public. Like most squirrels in the Marvel Universe, Tippy Toe isn’t exactly a slouch when it comes to fighting supervillains. During her brief superhero career, Tippy Toe has scored victories over MODOK, Thanos, and Deathurge.
