Man being chased by baby squirrel calls police, officers come to the rescue

Joel Shannon | USA TODAY

A tiny squirrel chased a German man so aggressively that the man called the police for help Thursday.

Police arrived to witness the end of the pursuit, which ended when the exhausted animal collapsed and fell asleep, according to the Guardian.

The officers transported the animal, which had likely lost its mother and was searching for a new home, to a rescue center. But first they named it Karl-Friedrich and declared it their mascot, according to a police statement.

“It often happens that squirrels which have lost their mothers look for a replacement and then focus their efforts on one person,” police spokeswoman Christina Krenz told the Guardian. She told the publication that the experience can be "pretty scary."

The twitter account for the Karlsruhe police department tweeted photos of the rescue effort, including multiple photos of the baby squirrel sleeping. Karlsruhe is a city located in southwest Germany.