The chubby critter piled on the pounds thanks to overfeeding from tourists.
The animal was snapped by Marina van der Linden, 46, during a trip to the Morro Rock State Preserve in western California.
She said: "Suddenly I saw a family of squirrels. It was hilarious because they were all quite big, but there was one that was enormous.
"I concentrated on it since it was the fattest of them all but it kept hiding between the rocks.
"When it finally sat still out in the open for a brief period, I discovered that I was too close and I could not fit the entire squirrel in the camera’s viewfinder.
"It was so big that I had to walk backwards in order to get the whole of her in frame.
Marina added: "The next day I went to photograph her again but not a single squirrel was to be seen.
"Then I saw one with the same pattern on her head but she ran off before she could be photographed.
"I think she was self-conscious about her weight."
相关新闻中文报道：
（中新网6月10日电）据外媒报道，在美国加利福尼亚州水杉国家公园的摩洛岩石(Moro Rock) 保护区内，一只灰松鼠全然不顾形象，对游人不停喂食的坚果照单全收，结果体型如吹气球般涨大，足足有正常的两倍。
一名软件工程师拍摄的正面照片显示，这只小动物完全变成了一个敦实的毛球，只有小小的脑袋和四肢还能显示出它是一只松鼠。
拍照者称，这只松鼠是她当时看到的松鼠一家中最肥的，等到它停下来，离得足够近可以拍了，却发现它肥得连取景框都装不下了。这名游客只好后退，才把它全部拍下来：“最后它终于直视我了，我赶紧抓住机会按下快门。” |
