Wildlife worker's squirrel surprise caught on camera

Feb. 2 (UPI) -- Wildlife officials in Georgia shared video of the moment an employee cleaning out a bird house was startled by a squirrel that suddenly burst out of the structure and splashed into a nearby lake.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resource's Wildlife Resources Division said in a Facebook post that the man, an employee at a Wildlife Management Area, was tasked with cleaning out a bird house for wood ducks.

The video shows the man tap three times on the side of the bird house, causing the squirrel the worker apparently did not know was inside to leap out from the structure's opening.

The squirrel sails several feet through the air and lands in a lake. The animal then paddles to shore.

"Each January, WMA staff clean and check wood duck boxes to prepare them for the upcoming nesting season. But occasionally, they get a bit of a surprise when other critters decide to take up residence over the winter," the post states.