Do you know what a rat king is? It’s a half-myth, sort-of, kind-of real thing where a bunch of rats get their tails stuck together. You can click here to see an actual specimen, but warning, it’s one of those things — like a snake opening a fucking door by itself — that you can’t unsee.

According to folklore, rat kings are considered a bad omen. A very gross, bad omen. But what of the Squirrel King?

Oh, the Squirrel King, you say? What’s that? Click through to find out.

This squirrel pile was brought into the Animal Clinic of Regina in Saskatchewan, Canada, their six tails stuck together by tree sap. According to clinic doctor Dr. Steven Kruzeniski, “It just doesn’t happen too often. It’s a pretty rare thing to see but I have seen it happen once before.” You mean this is a thing … that happens?

The squirrels were sedated and their tails separated. According to Kruzeniski, none of their tails had to be sacrificed. The six squirrels were released back into the wild. Hopefully they’ve learned their squirrel lesson, and will refrain from hanging out in sappy trees in packs.

[Anorak]

Original by Julie Gerstein