Boy finds furry visitor in toilet bowl

A Prince George boy had a close encounter of the furry kind, when he took a bathroom break one day last week.

When he lifted the lid of his family's toilet, Keith Schuk discovered a flying squirrel.

The 11-year-old was getting ready for school early one morning last week, when he found the agitated visitor.

"I opened the toilet seat and there was a flying squirrel in my toilet," he told CBC News on Monday

At first the boy mistook the furry creature for his cat, and reached out to rescue it from the bowl, but the hiss that came from the ball of fur made him think it might be a rat.

As the boy was pondering his next move, the wet creature hopped to the floor on its own and slipped, and slid, and finally hid under his mom's makeup kit.

Keith called for his mom and they managed to trap the animal in a cardboard box while it was sleeping. The family eventually identified the wet furball as a flying squirrel.

Flying squirrels are nocturnal creatures that are native to the Prince George area. They stretch out their skin between their limbs, catching the air and allowing them to glide, rather than actually fly. 

The Schuk family believes the squirrel may have slipped down a roof vent, then tried to make a desperate bid for escape through the toilet bowl.

They eventually set the squirrel free in the woods about 10 kilometres away from their home.

But young Keith Schuk said he learned an important lesson from the incident.

"Look before you sit," he told CBC News.