This squirrel learned to ring a bell when he wants nuts — and people are obsessed

By Brooke Baitinger, The Sacramento Bee (TNS)

A clever squirrel has gathered quite the TikTok following after he learned to ring a bell in exchange for nuts in California.

Researchers at UC Berkeley’s microbiology lab taught the squirrel to tug on a string tied to a bell to ring it from his perch on the window ledge, and rewarded him with a treat when he did, Alienor Baskevitch told CNN. The researchers named him Kluyver after famous microbiologist Albert Kluyver, the station reported.

Baskevitch posted a clip of Kluyver ringing the bell on TikTok, and it went viral. Users demanded to see a follow-up video of him receiving his hard-earned snack.

Others commented about how cute Kluyver is when he holds his little hands together and patiently waits for his treat.

“I would never get any work done,” someone said in the comments.

Since then, Baskevitch has posted daily updates of Kluyver stopping by around lunchtime and ringing the bell to be served his treat.

Sometimes it’s almonds, other times it’s pistachios. Several TikTok users suggested making the string longer so Kluyver wouldn’t have to work so hard to ring it.

Baskevitch tried giving him an upside down mug as a booster seat first, and while it took him a few days to learn to use it, now he’s quite the pro. She also caved and made the string longer, she said in the caption on the April 3 TikTok video.

“I think we don’t want the squirrel to rely on us as the main source of food,” she told CNN.

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