No offence to all the speedo-clad East Coasters in the US who took advantage of the recent historic blizzard to test out their snow-swimming skills, but this red squirrel from Estonia has got you all beat. The little rodent glides effortlessly through the soft powder, occasionally popping up like the real-life squirrel version of Whac-a-Mole. This is snow-swimming.  

Snow Diving Squirrel 2015 01 28
Squirrel Up 2015 01 28

Winters are pretty harsh in Estonia and temperatures can plummet as low as -12C (10.4F) in January. But when the going gets tough, the squirrels go snow-diving. Red squirrels typically feed on seeds, nuts, berries and shoots, often stashing the goods away in a safe hiding spot for later feasting. Although the locals were kind enough to leave out high-protein "fat balls" to help the squirrels get through the harsh winter, this little rodent has its eyes on a different prize. Either that or it just forgot where it stashed its bounty … that happens.

Here's the full video:

Header image: kuhnmi