Man unexpectedly finds tiny creatures hiding in his car engine

When a man’s car wouldn’t start, it led to a very unexpected discovery under the hood — and a heartwarming rescue that reunited a mama and her babies.

According to a TikTok post, wildlife rehabilitator Karenlynn Stracher got a call from a man who was having some unusual car trouble.

His car had been sitting unused for a few months, and when he went to drive it the car wouldn’t start. The car was towed to an auto shop, and searching under the hood they discovered something unexpected: a group of 6 baby squirrels, hiding in the car’s engine!

According to the TikTok, Karenlynn advised the driver and his friend to remove the squirrels and place them in a shoebox. Then he drove back to the car’s original parking space, and placed the box on the side of the vehicle.

The reason: to reunite the baby squirrels with their mother.

“I wish people understood how badly these moms want their babies back,” Karenlynn Stracher told The Dodo. “When babies are healthy, every attempt should be made to return them to their mother, because no matter how good us rehabbers are at raising baby squirrels, their mother is always best.”

Sure enough, the mama squirrel soon appeared to pick up her babies. One by one, she carries the little ones up a nearby tree to her second nest.

“She continued until every one of her babies were safely settled in their new home,” Stracher wrote on TikTok. “I am so grateful, to this kind and patient gentleman for returning these babies to their mother, and I am certain mom is too!”