New York man pleads for return of captured Instagram squirrel, peanut, nut, squirrel, Instagram star, social media, pet, wildlife, New York, December, Fred, raccoon

Numerous anonymous complaints about Peanut (also spelled P’Nut or PNUT) led at least six state Department of Environmental Conservation officers to Mark Longo’s home near the Pennsylvania border in rural Pine City on Wednesday, Longo said. .

“DEC came to my home and raided my home without a search warrant to find a squirrel!” said Longo, who is 34 years old. “They treated me like I was a drug dealer and they were collecting drugs and guns.”

The officers left with Peanut, who had amassed hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram, TikTok and other platforms during his seven years working for Longo. They also took Fred, a recent addition to the family, with them.

A DEC spokesperson said in a statement that the agency began the investigation after receiving “multiple reports from the public about the potentially unsafe keeping of wild animals that may carry rabies and the illegal keeping of wild animals as pets.”

Longo, who runs an animal sanctuary inspired by his squirrel pal called P’Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary, took to Instagram to mourn the loss of Peanut.

“Well Internet, you WIN,” Longo wrote. “You took one of the most amazing animals from me because of your selfishness. There’s a special place in hell for the group of people who called DEC.”

Longo fears that Peanut has been euthanized. “I don’t know if Peanut is alive,” he said in a phone interview Thursday. – I don’t know where he is.

A DEC spokesman did not respond to questions about whether Peanut was euthanized.

Longo said he saw Peanut’s mother hit by a car in New York City seven years ago, leaving the tiny squirrel an orphan. Longo brought Peanut home and cared for him for eight months before attempting to release the squirrel into the wild. “A day and a half later, I found him sitting on my porch with half his tail missing and a bone sticking out,” Longo said.

Longo determined that Peanut lacked the survival skills to live in the wild and would remain a house squirrel.

Soon after Longo posted a video of Peanut playing with his cat, internet fame followed.

A scroll through Peanut’s Instagram account suggests that this is no ordinary squirrel. Peanut jumps on Longo’s shoulder, he wears a miniature cowboy hat, and eats a waffle with knitted bunny ears.

Over the years, the Peanuts story has been featured on television and in newspapers, including USA Today.

Longo, who works as a mechanical engineer, lived in Norwalk, Connecticut, until he decided to move to upstate New York last year to open an animal shelter.

P’Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary opened in April 2023 and now houses about 300 animals, including horses, goats and alpacas, said Longo, who runs the sanctuary with his wife Daniela and other family members.

Longo understands that it is against New York State law to own a wild animal without a license. He said he is in the process of applying to have Peanut certified as an educational animal.

“If we don’t follow the rules, point us in the right direction to follow the rules, you know?” – Longo said. “Let us know what we need to do to keep Peanut in the house and not worry about getting caught.”

As for Fred, Longo said he had only had the raccoon for a few months and was hoping to rehabilitate the injured creature and release it back into the woods.

Longo is not the first pet owner to protest the seizure of a pet by New York City authorities. A Buffalo-area man whose alligator was seized by DEC in March is suing the agency to get the 750-pound (340-kilogram) reptile back.