This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A New York squirrel has been dubbed “the new Pizza Rat” after being filmed munching on an avocado in a flower planter on the Upper West Side. Henry Zhang spotted the squirrel on Thursday and uploaded the video to social media, where it is proceeding to go viral.

Zhang told the Guardian that it was actually his dog, Almond, who first noticed the squirrel and tugged on his leash to alert his owner to the excitement. “The planter is next to a street vendor selling fruits and his van. I assume an avocado dropped from his van or stand, and the squirrel scavenged it.”

While the squirrel is to be commended for eating heart-healthy fats rather than a slice of pizza, one does hope it knows that its choice of treat is extremely uneconomical. If only the squirrel had skipped the avocado, it might have saved enough money to buy a house instead of living in a tree.

The last few years have been a fruitful time for viral vermin aficionados; Avocado Squirrel joins an illustrious roster of city critters caught snacking.

Pizza Rat

Pizza Rat, of course, is the OG of viral street creatures. However, it is not entirely clear whether the rat, which shot to world fame in 2015, was eating pizza of its own volition. It is suspected that the Pizza Rat video was actually a performance art piece cooked up by Zardulu, a Brooklyn-based artist who, among other things, trains rats to do tricks.

Bagel rat

Kelsey Scherer (@kelsa_) 🎵 welcome to new york 🎵 pic.twitter.com/9QkK6l5C97

In 2016, we welcomed Bagel Rat to the world when a commuter spotted the rat munching its very New York breakfast at a subway platform in Harlem. This rat appears to be eating the bagel because it scavenged it and not because a mysterious performance artist concocted the scenario.

From 'guard cats' to monkeys who shop: our favourite urban animal stories Read more

Belligerent Bagel Rats

Last year two rats were spotted fighting over a bagel in the subway. You’ve got to love New York.

Avocado rat



It seems that it’s not just squirrels that are keen on avocado. Last year, a New Yorker spotted a rat scampering on the subway tracks in Brooklyn with half an avocado. No news yet on whether it ever found a piece of toast.