# Hey Rocky! Watch me pull a flying squirrel out of a Hospital! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 1, 2011, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-rocky-watch-me-pull-a-flying-squirrel-out-of-a-hospital/604743 "2011-12-01T20:39:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-rocky-watch-me-pull-a-flying-squirrel-out-of-a-hospital/604743/1 "2011-12-01T20:39:15Z")
That trick never works! > **[Flying Squirrel Invades New Jersey E.R.](https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2011/12/01/flying-squirrel-invades-new-jersey-e-r/)** > > Get breaking national and world news, broadcast video coverage, and exclusive interviews. Find the top news online at ABC news. > [@](#): > > A flying squirrel caused a stir in a New Jersey hospital when it got trapped inside the emergency department. > > At about 10 p.m. on Tuesday, the squirrel got inside the emergency department of the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Rahway, according to a report in the Newark-based Star-Ledger. The animal scuttled around the emergency room, trying to evade the firefighters who were called in to catch it. > … > “It would climb up on a light and would jump off and glide” to the floor over and over, fire department spokesman Capt. Ted Padavano told the Star-Ledger. > > Eventually, the firefighters were able to corral the mammal into a 15-by-15-foot trauma room. After about 10 minutes, they managed to cover the squirrel with a blanket and released it into a wooded area near the hospital. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-rocky-watch-me-pull-a-flying-squirrel-out-of-a-hospital/604743/2 "2011-12-01T20:54:31Z")
No doubt about it- I gotta get a new hospital. ---
**Author:** ![Encinitas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Encinitas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Encinitas)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-rocky-watch-me-pull-a-flying-squirrel-out-of-a-hospital/604743/3 "2011-12-01T21:33:27Z")
[Natasha]Kill moose and squirrel.[/N] ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-rocky-watch-me-pull-a-flying-squirrel-out-of-a-hospital/604743/4 "2011-12-02T04:59:47Z")
Was it aflame or something that they had to call in firefighters to catch it? When a pigeon got into the lab a couple of us lowly techs cornered it and got it back outside without any casualties. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-rocky-watch-me-pull-a-flying-squirrel-out-of-a-hospital/604743/5 "2011-12-02T07:10:52Z")
> [@dwyr](#): > > Was it aflame or something that they had to call in firefighters to catch it? When a pigeon got into the lab a couple of us lowly techs cornered it and got it back outside without any casualties. Squirrels can carry diseases. They have very sharp claws and teeth. Firefighters have thick, protective clothing that keeps the frightened, panicy animal from wounding them. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-rocky-watch-me-pull-a-flying-squirrel-out-of-a-hospital/604743/6 "2011-12-02T07:23:48Z")
Flying squirrels are quite adorable and not nearly as insane as regular squirrels. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-rocky-watch-me-pull-a-flying-squirrel-out-of-a-hospital/604743/7 "2011-12-02T07:23:57Z")
Did he get lost on the way to Frostbite Falls? ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-rocky-watch-me-pull-a-flying-squirrel-out-of-a-hospital/604743/8 "2011-12-02T09:15:42Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > Squirrels can carry diseases. They have very sharp claws and teeth. Firefighters have thick, protective clothing that keeps the frightened, panicy animal from wounding them. Well aware of the disease potential thanks being a medical lab drone and all. Our maintenance people also have gloves and coveralls. They could probably handle a squirrel without the need to pull firefighters out of service for a time. Catching a squirrel can’t be more important than rescuing people from a burning building or attending the scene of a car wreck. That’s all I’m saying. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-rocky-watch-me-pull-a-flying-squirrel-out-of-a-hospital/604743/9 "2011-12-02T10:15:38Z")
Twice I’ve had bats get into my house. The cats went crazy, running around chasing them as they flew around. I took a big pillow and whacked at them as they came by, finally knocking them out of the air. As the bats lay stunned I put on a thick oven mitt, picked them up(they don’t like that!) and released them outside. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-rocky-watch-me-pull-a-flying-squirrel-out-of-a-hospital/604743/10 "2011-12-02T17:19:23Z")
We didn’t call anyone when we got a chipmunk running around our office suite. We just closed it up in the suite hallway, and I captured it using a towel and a wastebasket. Two days later it (or its identical twin) showed up in the suite across the hall. One of the denizens of that suite called me. Apparently he thought I was now the chipmunk whisperer. I gave him the wastebasket and the towel and wished him luck. The little bugger (or one of his identical relatives) still shows up in different suites from time to time. “A hospital spokeswoman said there was no damage to the emergency room and didn’t have an explanation for the hospital’s sudden influx of flying squirrels.” Heh. Gives a whole new meaning to the ER slang “Frequent Flyer.” ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-rocky-watch-me-pull-a-flying-squirrel-out-of-a-hospital/604743/11 "2011-12-02T17:49:55Z")
> [@dwyr](#): > > Well aware of the disease potential thanks being a medical lab drone and all. Our maintenance people also have gloves and coveralls. They could probably handle a squirrel without the need to pull firefighters out of service for a time. Catching a squirrel can’t be more important than rescuing people from a burning building or attending the scene of a car wreck. That’s all I’m saying. I’m sure that if a call came in for a burning house or a car wreck that squirrel would have been left to the maintenance staff post haste. Which come to think of it might become an issue if the car wreck victims were brought to that ER. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-rocky-watch-me-pull-a-flying-squirrel-out-of-a-hospital/604743/12 "2011-12-02T18:06:00Z")
They should have released the flying monkeys to catch it. And then to kill the monkeys, unleash wave after wave of Chinese Needle Snakes. Even though the snakes are worse than the monkeys, there’s a type of gorilla that only feeds on snake meat. The best part is, once winter comes the gorillas simply freeze to death ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-rocky-watch-me-pull-a-flying-squirrel-out-of-a-hospital/604743/13 "2011-12-02T18:30:05Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > They should have released the flying monkeys to catch it. And then to kill the monkeys, unleash wave after wave of Chinese Needle Snakes. Even though the snakes are worse than the monkeys, there’s a type of gorilla that only feeds on snake meat. The best part is, once winter comes the gorillas simply freeze to death Just send in the Honey badger!