Mark Rober designed an elaborate obstacle course to discourage thieving squirrels.
Mark Rober could not keep the squirrels away from his birdfeeder. For weeks, they outsmarted all the birdfeeders he bought and managed to steal the seeds he put out for birds. Tired of the little rodents outwitting him, Mr Rober - a former NASA and Apple engineer - came up with a solution, a quest to build an obstacle course tough enough to discourage the squirrels. The result of his resolve is an insanely elaborate obstacle course that is going massively viral on social media.
Built over the course of eight weeks, the expansive course features mazes, catapults, precarious ladders, rope bridges and more.
But was it enough to outsmart the wily squirrels? On Sunday, Mr Rober shared a video of the squirrels - whom he named Rick, Marty, Frank, and Phat Gus - navigating the course and mastering many of its elements, forcing him to rethink and make adjustments multiple times.
Watch the viral video below:
The video has collected over 16 million views and thousands of impressed comments since being shared on YouTube.
"Let's be honest, when we clicked on this video we never thought it would be this good," wrote one person in the comments section.
"I can't believe it worked so well, this was probably one of the most entertaining things I've ever watched," another said.
In the end, Mr Rober took the obstacle course down after a month. He has now set up a small picnic table where he gives the squirrels a few walnuts every morning. "[It's] a little treat to remind them of our good times together," he says.
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