You Won't Believe What Went Bump in the Night; What's Your Best Animal Intruder Story?

Flying squirrels are found throughout Michigan and prefer to burrow into small crevices. Like mice, they can squeeze through small spaces, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. (Photo: Michigan DNR)

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It’s that time of year when bats start moving into attics and chimneys.

So when she heard something banging around the chimney in her western Michigan home Sunday night, Suzanne Higgs rattled off a quick prayer: “Please God, don’t let that be a bat.”

No worries there.

It was worse, and Higgs knew she wasn’t dealing with a small bat the minute she turned on the light.

“I could hardly see it as it climbed up and down the fireplace,” she told MLive/The Kalamazoo Gazette, describing the creature with big eyes, a pointed nose and “really cute.”

“I thought:’What are you?’ “ she said.

The two stared curiously at one another, and Higgs said she stayed up until 2 a.m. talking to it and watching it scurry around the house.

When Monday morning dawned, the animal was gone. Higgs research showed it to be a flying squirrel, which are common in Michigan, but may be the state’s most elusive mammal because they are strictly nocturnal.

Two species of flying squirrels are found in Michigan, the northern flying squirrel (G. sabrinus) inhabits the northern Lower and Upper Peninsulas, while its close relative, the southern flying squirrel (G. volans), inhabits the southern Lower Peninsula.

It was Tuesday before Higgs was able to capture the flying squirrel in a live trap. She released it at near the entrance to the Kalamazoo Nature Center.

John Brenneman, research project coordinator at the Kalamazoo Nature Center, told MLive/The Kalamazoo Gazette the flying squirrel should be fine, but needs get after an important task: gathering and storing food for the winter.

Tell Us:

• What’s your favorite unwanted animal in the house story and how did you deal with it? I’ll start:

I once lived in a house with screened skylights that I often opened at night to let the fresh air in and the hot air out. I awoke to a loud “thud” about 5:30 a.m. one morning. I ignored it and rolled over to go back to sleep, but was propelled out of bed by the cat’s growling and hissing.

There, in the middle of my kitchen was a full-sized opossum that had fallen through the screen as it walked across the roof, in an interspecies standoff. The opossum was baring its razor-sharp teeth, making a hideous hissing noise, and the little cat was standing her ground.

I lived alone and wasn’t sure what to do. I knew the people at the local police department from my reporting job, so I called and asked if they would respond to that kind of emergency. Not really, they said, but an officer showed up and gathered the creature up in a blanket and carted it away.

Your turn now ...