A juvenile Eastern gray squirrel with a yellowish underbelly, perched on an indoor couch near a green cushion and patterned pillow. 1:14
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The gray squirrel who giggles when tickled

A young Eastern gray squirrel sits on a couch indoors, beside a green cushion and a patterned pillow. Someone starts to tickle it, and it giggles. more

Most of us only hear squirrels chattering at each other from the trees, sounding annoyed. This one sounds pleased. The giggle is high and squeaky, a tiny laugh that would suit a cartoon chipmunk.

A juvenile Eastern gray squirrel with a yellowish underbelly, perched on an indoor couch near a green cushion and patterned pillow. The headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
A young Eastern gray squirrel sits on a couch indoors, beside a green cushion and a patterned pillow.

Nobody can say for sure what the sound means to a squirrel. It may not be a laugh at all. But it sounds so much like one that it's hard to hear it any other way.

Some of the giggles sound a tad squeamish. Like anyone being tickled, the squirrel seems to love it and hate it at the same time.

At one point it seems to have had enough. It breaks away and runs around the couch, maybe to calm down.

Then it comes right back for another round. The break was only a break, and the giggling starts up again.