Overview
- The Bird's View built two hamster wheels—one standard and one oversized—and placed them in the woods under hidden cameras.
- Footage shows squirrels successfully running the larger wheel and manipulating the smaller one from outside.
- Other visitors included a tiny field mouse that could not move the wheel, deer and fawns that nudged it, and two black bears that sniffed around.
- Neuroscientist Justin Rhodes called the behavior “very weird” and said there is an appeal to running in a wheel “unfettered.”
- Coverage connects the viral clips to studies, including a 2014 field experiment, indicating wild animals voluntarily use wheels and may experience dopamine-related rewards.