Last Sunday, Percy and Connie Emert of the lamentably named Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania discovered a purple squirrel in their backyard.

The couple found the fuchsia beast in a squirrel trap that they'd left out to prevent the rodents from stealing food from bird feeders. To glean further insight on this animal's odd hue, Accuweather interviewed a "local squirrel enthusiast" about this catch:

If it has white hair on it at all, it's probably not dyed. I've had multiple squirrels as pets, though, and I've certainly never seen a purple one. I've seen dark red, light red, gray and brown, but never purple. Also, I've tried to dye my dog before, and trust me it didn't look like this. Though, I've only seen a picture, so your guess is as good as mine.

Let's table the fact that a man tried to dye his dog purple and instead silently ponder how one qualifies for the honorific of "local squirrel enthusiast."

The Emerts claim to have released the purprrel back into the wild, thereby bringing this saga to a thrilling anticlimax. Hat tip to Ian.