Squirrels are often seen running around parks and gardens and nibbling on whatever they could find mainly nuts and seeds. They are tiny and often seen as harmless and innocent creatures. But this very
assumption was recently challenged in a viral video.
In the clip, a squirrel is seen holding a dead lizard in its hands. The creature is seen munching on its head. Yes, you read that right. This sight has left viewers both shocked and fascinated.
Squirrel Eating Lizard?
One Instagram user shared the clip and wrote, “I didn’t know squirrels were carnivorous. I thought they only ate nuts. And of course, they fed on grass and branches. This squirrel caught a huge lizard and is eating it.”
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Over on X (formerly Twitter), a user asked in total disbelief, “How is this even possible?” while another added, “Like straight out of a horror film! Just missing red eyes.”
“Okay humans, time to step to the side and let squirrels evolve and take over,” someone else joked.
A viewer said, “Rogue carnivorous squirrels? We are so so doomed. Not in a joking way!!!!”
Even Reddit users were disturbed yet amused. A person shared, “I will never be able to get that out of my head,” while another remarked, “Didn’t think it was possible for something to look cute chewing off the head of something else.”
Why Squirrels Might Hunt
While the authenticity of the clip cannot be verified, it is not something out of the ordinary because squirrels do feed on lizards. According to A-Z Animals, squirrels are actually considered facultative predators which means that they can switch between eating plants and hunting animals depending on what’s available. Lizards, for instance, provide a good dose of protein, calcium and nitrogen.
So, if acorns or other plant-based foods are scarce, squirrels may go after small animals like lizards to meet their nutritional needs.
Beyond Lizards: Squirrels Eating Rodents
Squirrels’ hunting habits don’t stop at lizards. A 2024 study by the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and the University of California, Davis, found that California ground squirrels also hunt and eat voles. Published in the Journal of Ethology, the research revealed that what was previously thought to be a strictly nut-eating species is actually an opportunistic omnivore.
The observations came from the 12th year of the Long-term Behavioral Ecology of California Ground Squirrels Project at Briones Regional Park. Out of 74 interactions with voles between June and July, 42 per cent involved the squirrels actively hunting these small rodents.
