A man called police for help Thursday after a baby squirrel started to follow him and wouldn’t stop, according to police in Karlsruhe, Germany.
Officers responding to the report found the chase ongoing early Thursday, although they said it abruptly ended.
“The squirrel has fallen asleep in terror,” police said in a report.
Authorities took custody of the squirrel, who was apparently looking for a new home, and appeared to have bonded with the animal, too.
“A squirrel will be our new mascot,” police said in a report. “It will be christened Karl-Friedrich.”
Police spokeswoman Christina Krenz told The Guardian that it's not unusual for young squirrels to fixate on people if they've lost their mothers. It was not immediately clear what happened to Karl-Friedrich's mother.
Krenz said squirrels can be “very persistent, not just running behind someone, but entirely fixated on them.”
"It can be pretty scary," she told The Guardian. "The man didn't know what to do, and so he called the police. He was certainly feeling a bit threatened."
Karl-Friedrich was taken to an animal shelter after the incident.
“We wish the little one all the best!” police said on Facebook.
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