The fancy dress squirrel who may be too friendly for his own good



'Sneezy' the squirrel pictured wearing hats at Penn State University

Eye catching headgear was made for her by student Mary Krupa, 18

Squirrel so popular with students a Facebook site was created for her



Nutty: Sneezy the squirrel is so tame she lets Penn State University student Mary Krupa dress her up in a range of fetching hats



A university student has struck up an incredible relationship with a tiny squirrel named Sneezy - who lets her dress it up in a range of eye catching hats.



Animal-loving Mary Krupa, 18, started feeding peanuts to the squirrels on her campus at Penn State in Pennsylvania, USA, at the beginning of the school year.

Over time she noticed they were becoming more friendly and inching closer to her - with one in particular comfortable enough to eat straight from her hand.

And as the level of trust between the pair continued to grow Mary decided that simply stroking the squirrel was no longer enough - so she began placing miniature hats on her new friend.

She said: 'One day I was sitting under a tree and some kids nearby were feeding a group of squirrels and they weren't running away - so I decided to try the same thing.

'They got friendlier and friendlier, particularly Sneezy, but I honestly don't know what inspired me to put hats on her - I just wanted to see what I could do as it was funny.

'I had a tiny doll hat with me and tried it. Amazingly she sat there with it on long enough for me to take a picture. It was so cute.

'Then I started making different hats including a special birthday hat as it was my grandmother's birthday so I sent her a picture which she loved.'

Ms Krupa makes most of the hats herself - with some simply computer print outs that she folds up. Others she finds at craft stores.



She said she had, had lots of positive reaction to the pictures so far. 'Everyone in town and on campus loves it ,' she said.



Popular: Sneezy is so popular with students at Penn State she has even had a Facebook page created in his honour which has been liked by nearly 6,500 people



Suave: Sneezy has been pictured wearing a range of cute outfits, including a fez (left) and a chef's hat



Festive: The squirrel marked the Christmas season with a party hat (left) and a shiny green bow



'People call me the 'Squirrel Whisperer,' she said.



'In total I have probably made and photographed a few more than 20 hats and plan to keep on going as long as Sneezy is enjoying it too.'

Sneezy is so popular with students at Penn State he now has his own Facebook page, which has been liked by nearly 6,500 people.

Close: Ms Krupa, 18, has struck up a remarkable relationship with Sneezy since befriending him

The page features a selection of pictures of the squirrel in various costumes, under the caption 'A friendly little squirrel who wears hats to brighten up your day!'

Squirrels are naturally inquisitive animals with those who live close to, or among humans, sometimes prepared to approach them for food.

The animals have very accurate spatial memories - used to a large degree to remember where they have buried caches of nuts.



Squirrels have even been known to pretend to bury nuts if they feel they are being watched by a rival.

They do this by digging a hole and miming the placement of the nut, while actually keeping it in their mouths.

They need to be quick witted to avoid a wide range of predators including humans, hawks, weasels, raccoons, and cats.

Squirrels belong to a large family of rodents called the Sciuridae.



This includes a wide range of species, such as tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots, flying squirrels, and prairie dogs.

Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa, and have been introduced to Australia.



The introduction of grey squirrels to Britain has been blamed by conservationists for causing a steep decline in the country's native red squirrel population.



Eye catching: Sneezy wears a graduation cap (left) and keeps out the cold with some comfy earmuffs (right)



Cool: The rodent appears not to mind after having a baseball cap and a cowboy hat perched on his head



Fetching: Sneezy could not look any cuter as he sports a 'helicopter hat' and a Robin Hood cap





