The mystery of Smoothie the squirrel

With grey wrinkled skin and a thin curling tail, this might appear to be a rather overweight rat.

But the rodent is actually a bald squirrel, whose strange appearance has baffled staff at a wildlife center.

The male, nicknamed Smoothie, was found in Amersham, Bucks, and now vets at St Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital in Aylesbury are trying to establish how and why he lost all his fur.

Bald squirrels are not particularly uncommon, but their condition is often caused by mange, an illness caused by mites. Smoothie appears to be healthy, but is undergoing tests to find out the cause of his problem.