Watch the bizarre moment a squirrel bursts from bird house and lands in Georgia lake

Squirrels may not be dangerous, but a video posted Monday on Facebook proves they are fully capable of scaring you to death.

The brief video, clocking in at just 11 seconds, shows a Georgia Wildlife Resources Division employee in the process of cleaning out a bird house for wood ducks when he is taken off guard.

He taps three times on the side — clearly expecting no one to be home — then recoils as a large squirrel explodes from the entrance, flying several feet and landing with a splash in a nearby lake.

The squirrel is then seen dog paddling to shore, where it scuttles away through the weeds. It happened at one of the state’s Wildlife Management Areas, officials said.

“Each January, WMA staff clean and check wood duck boxes to prepare them for the upcoming nesting season,” the state officials wrote. “But occasionally, they get a bit of a surprise when other critters decide to take up residence over the winter.”

The man in the video, who was not identified, is heard gasping — then laughing.

Commenters on the video are clearly impressed at his muted reaction, including one person who called it a “poop in the britches” moment.

“I actually thought that was a baby gator or some kind of lizard till I watched it a few times. Never seen a squirrel swimming before!!” one man wrote.

“Better than a snake sticking its head out & refusing to leave,” another said.

Commenter Eric Nappier said something similar happened to him, only he was standing in a boat at the time.

“Opened the top only to find a full grown raccoon looking up at me in a sleepy haze,” he wrote. “Took (it) over to the bank, put the box on the ground, and opened the top. He waddled out, turned around to look at us (probably cursing) and scampered off.”

The type of squirrel in the video was not identified, but Georgia is home to gray squirrels and fox squirrels. The latter are the biggest and can grow to three pounds.

This story was originally published February 2, 2021 at 8:11 AM with the headline "Watch the bizarre moment a squirrel bursts from bird house and lands in Georgia lake."