View from the North 40: The news is squirrellier than usual

Of all the news items that could be trending this week, I never would have expected one of the top topics to be squirrels.

Not squirrel cartoons, which we love and hate, and not squirrelly politicians, which would seem to be the most likely scenario, but actual bushy-tailed, chatterbox squirrels.

The first bit is squirrel-science news from New York City. The Associated Press picked up the story that researchers are taking a census of squirrels in the city’s 840-acre Central Park, to track the “squirrels’ activities, such as running and foraging, coat color and sounds they make,” the article says. Lead researcher Jamie Allen said they are “filling a data void on squirrels and exposing patterns in how they live.”

Who knew that was even an issue?

Maybe Cindy Torok did.

A Frontier Airlines flight out of Orlando, Florida, was delayed by two hours Tuesday after flight attendants discovered the emotional support animal that passenger Cindy Torok had brought with her on the plane was an emotional support squirrel.

Yes, this sounds like the punchline to a joke, because how wonky are you that a squirrel embodies your calm space — don’t answer that, it’s just a rhetorical question. The news story itself, though, was picked up by major news outlets from Fox to NPR.

Torok told the airline she would be bringing an emotional support animal, but not what kind of animal it was. Maybe Torok was thinking, “Hey, it’s not like I’m trying to bring an emotional support peacock on board like that crazy woman back in January.”

But Frontier was having none of it. No rodents, on-board staff said, not even 11-week-old bushy-tailed nut-monkeys that fit in your pocket.

Torok refused to leave, though, so everyone else had to disembark and four law enforcement officers escorted Torok and her squirrelly companion off the plane. Video shows Torok, as she’s being pushed in a wheelchair past the flight’s passengers, giving the crowd a defiant one-fingered salute.

Frontier has refunded the ticket and issued a voucher for a free flight, sans squirrel, but Torok cannot be calmed down, even by her emotional support squirrel. She has told reporters she plans on seeking legal counsel about suing the airline for her poor treatment.

No word yet, though, on whether the squirrel is going after them on defamation of character — rodent, indeed.

If heartwarming is more your thing for news stories, then read on.

Officers in the Minneapolis suburb Brooklyn Park stopped to investigate why a car was sitting idling in the street with the driver’s door open. They found — and caught on video which they posted to their Facebook page — the driver alongside the street doing CPR chest compressions on a seemingly dead squirrel.

As in the squirrel was laying in the grass belly up and not moving on his own. It didn’t have dead-X’s for eyes, but it was close.

The driver told the cops he didn’t think he had run over the squirrel because it “would’ve popped,” but it obviously needed resuscitation. And he was just the hero to get the job done.

One of the officers suggested he roll the squirrel upright, so he did and continued stroking the squirrel’s back. After a few seconds, the squirrel jumped up and raced away. No thank you, no sorry for the delay, no howdy-do, but it did look happy to be alive.

The first-responders all cheered and high-fived each other.

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As for any other squirrels trending in the news, you’ll have to decide on your own which one to vote for come November at http://www.facebook.com/viewfromthenorth40.com/.