Cops in Germany came to the rescue of a man after being chased down by a baby squirrel. The man contacted the emergency services when the squirrel would not stop following him in Karlsruhe, south west Germany on Thursday. Police responded to the call to find the rodent still terrorising the man in distress. The squirrel was taken into custody after it abruptly fell asleep. Squirrels are known to chase after human beings when in need of food or help.

A police spokesperson said officers were able to catch the infant red squirrel after it fell asleep from exhaustion from the chase. “The squirrel has fallen asleep because of the horror,” the police jokingly wrote in their report of the incident. Officers appeared to have grown attached to the animal, which they named Karl-Friedrich, adding in their account of events he had become ‘a new mascot’. Karl-Friedrich was taken in by police, who provided care for him until he was later taken to a rescue centre.

According to the police, Karl-Friedrich was apparently looking for a new home, so they took him in for a while, gave him food and water and then handed over to the rescue centre where he will be ‘best-cared for’. Orphaned baby squirrels can often exhibit strange behaviour such as a lack of instinctual fear. The baby squirrel had apparently been separated from its mother and was therefore pursuing the man. “It often happens that squirrels which have lost their mothers look for a replacement and then focus their efforts on one person,” said Christina Krenz, a police spokeswoman.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 11, 2018 04:39 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).