How Animals Take Over Cars: Five Wild Stories

It is not uncommon for animals to crawl under the hoods of cars: they are attracted by the heat coming from the engine and a false sense of security in a tight, enclosed space. Usually cats or (worse) rats are intruders, but there are also more exotic options. And you probably won't like some of them. We remembered several funny and sometimes really dangerous cases when motorists opened the hoods of their cars - and there …

Proteins!

In this case, not even the proteins themselves, but very noticeable traces of their presence. If the engine of your car works with strange sounds, and the smell of burning is felt in the cabin, it is possible that this is now not a car, but a warehouse of squirrel supplies. At least that's what happened with KiSorento in Pittsburgh, USA. Under the hood of the crossover, the owner found a lot of moss and branches, among which the squirrels carefully spread walnuts. Another half a bucket of nuts was pulled out of numerous slots, niches and stampings of the engine, engine compartment and attachments. Fortunately, the squirrel vault was spotted in time and the car was not damaged.

Owls!

A banal oil change in a car turned into a whole adventure for employees of a car service in Salem (New Hampshire). Opening the hood, they were surprised to find a North American scoop peacefully sleeping near the engine. Perhaps the bird climbed there to rest, attracted by the heat of the engine, or hunted mice. Or she decided to help the owner with an oil change … Whatever it was, everything ended well: the bird turned out to be peaceful and was calmly given into the hands of the service workers, who transferred it to the wildlife rehabilitation center. There the scoop was examined and released.

Marmots!

Elizabeth Corsetti of Dadham, Massachusetts noticed that the Check Engine lamp on her dashboard was on and drove to a car service. It was there that it turned out that for some time Corsetti was traveling not alone, but in the company with a marmot: the rodent huddled under the air filter, closer to the engine shield, and was clearly frightened. By some miracle, the marmot was not injured: usually trips under the hood end sadly for animals. But whether the problem with Check Engine was solved is unknown.

Dogs!

One morning, Brazilian Lidiana Carlos could not start the car. After several unsuccessful attempts, she crawled under the hood, where she was met by a cute, but rather large black and white puppy, who, judging by his behavior, was quite happy with everything. Lidiana pulled the dog out from under the hood herself without any problems, took it to the veterinarians just in case, and then kept it for herself. Here is such a happy story.

Snakes! Yes, snakes!

There is a version that in Australia literally everything that moves is trying to kill you. And after a recent incident on the highway in Picton, you involuntarily begin to believe this: a family with two children was forced to stop right in the middle of the highway, because a snake crawled out from somewhere in the car in which they were driving. It took the police officers five hours (!) To catch the intruder: because of the road noise and vibrations, the snake was aggressive and actively hid, crawling all over the cabin. Further - more: it turned out that this is a poisonous tiger snake (the bite is fatal to humans), and it got into the car inside … a cow's skull, which the children were carrying as a souvenir. It turned out that their hobby is to collect animal skulls. Indeed, everything is upside down in Australia!