Peanut the Squirrel / P'Nut

About

Peanut the Squirrel, also known as P'Nut, was a pet eastern grey squirrel owned by content creator Mark Longo and his wife Daniela Longo, who ran an Instagram account dedicated to the animal. In addition to Peanut, Longo also owned a North American raccoon named Fred the Raccoon. In late October 2024, both the squirrel and raccoon were euthanized to test for rabies by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) after they were seized from Longo's home and Peanut reportedly bit someone involved in the investigation. The killing of the two animals, particularly Peanut, resulted in a wave of mass coverage and outrage online (similar to Harambe) as the two pets became the subject of numerous memes, fan art depictions and discussions online.

Origin

The first post uploaded to the @peanut_the_squirrel12 Instagram^[1] account was submitted on April 17, 2017. It featured a picture of Peanut as a baby sitting on a person's leg (shown below). Over the next roughly seven years, the account accumulated over 701,000 followers.

Peanut was notably a member of P’Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary,^[11] a nonprofit animal sanctuary in Pine City, New York that rescues neglected and homeless animals. According to the sanctuary's website, Peanut the Squirrel was the inspiration behind the animal farm.

Peanut also had a TikTok^[12] account under the name @peanut_the_squirrel12, which posted its first video on August 30th, 2023, featuring the animal and his owner Mark Longo playing in his home (seen below). As of early November 2024, the account garnered over 241,900 followers and 2.4 million likes.

Euthanization

On November 1st, 2024, Mark Longo posted a video on peanut_the_squirrel12's Instagram^[2] and announced that Peanut and his raccoon Fred had been euthanized by the NYDEC. Later that day, he posted another video^[3] featuring clips of the two animals and asked for viewer's support to demand accountability from the Department, with the post receiving nearly 175,000 likes in three days.

Also on November 1st, Peanut's owners were interviewed by TMZ, during which they condemned the DEC for taking their animals and euthanizing them (shown below). They described how the DEC obtained a warrant to search their residence and seize the animals.

According to the Associated Press,^[6] the DEC and the Chemung County Health Department said P'Nut reportedly bit one of the workers, which led to him and the raccoon being euthanized so they could be tested for rabies. However, Longo denies that his pet bit anyone involved in the investigation. Longo told AP during the phone interview on November 2nd:

Honestly, this still kind of feels surreal, that the state that I live in actually targeted me and took two of the most beloved animals on this planet away, didn’t even quarantine them. They took them from my house and just killed them.

Spread

Doxxing / Hunt For Woman Who Made Report

A few days after Peanut the Squirrel's euthanasia became a massive topic on the internet in early November 2024, netizens started to attempt to find the people involved in the controversy and leak personal information about the NYDEC employees as backlash emerged.

For example, on November 3rd, 2024, TikTok^[7] user @ehheiai posted a video alleging a photographer named Monica Keasler was one of the people who reported the Longo family to the authorities. The video (seen below) received roughly 278,000 plays and 5,000 likes in a day.

Also on November 3rd, TikToker^[13] @itsnickholiday posted a video claiming people found the woman responsible for reporting Peanut and Fred to the authorities, claiming it was a "Monica Kessler" and that she purportedly bragged about it and deleted her social media due to the backlash. The video (seen below) received over 564,000 views and 47,000 likes in 21 hours.

However, the top-liked comment on @itsnickholiday's video with over 4,200 likes claimed that it was "Monica Keasler" and not "Monica Kessler," noting it was a different photographer and that he had the name wrong.

Fake Donald Trump Press Release

On November 2nd, 2024, a fake press release edited to appear as if former President Donald Trump were condemning the animal being euthanized began circulating on X / Twitter and other sites.^[14]

For example, that same day, X^[15] user @ING2Firebrand shared the fake press release, receiving over 2.3 million views and 26,000 likes in two days (shown below). The post notably received a Community Note shortly after, stating that it was fake.

J.D. Vance Comments

On November 3rd, 2024, Donald Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, told supporters during a campaign event in North Carolina about P'Nut's euthanasia, saying Trump is "fired up about P’nut the Squirrel,” and that he was like, "You know, is it really the case that the Democrats murdered the Elon Musk of squirrels?"^[9]

On the same day, the X^[10] page @ritter_eth posted Vance's full comment about the squirrel (seen below), which garnered over 13,000 views and 950 likes in a day.

Peanut The Squirrel Owner's OnlyFans Account

On November 4th, 2024, TMZ^[4] revealed that the P'Nut house raid started because some officials reportedly had a problem with Mark Longo's OnlyFans account and the adult content he produced with his wife, Daniela Longo. Mark Longo told the tabloid that he thinks "there's an ulterior motive here, and it seems it has to do with my spicy social media presence, especially since other than taking the animals, they took no action against me."

A day before TMZ reached Longo, netizens also shared screenshots of his OF account as it was discovered and spread, such as X^[5] user @LevineJonathan, who wrote on November 3rd, "Peanut the squirrel’s father has an OnlyFans called 'Squirrel Daddy.'" The tweet (seen below) amassed over 160 likes and 30 reposts in a day.

P'Nut GoFundMe Page / Change.org Petition

A GoFundMe page^[8] for P’nut and Fred the raccoon raised more than $160,000 in less than a week, claiming that "all proceeds from our fundraising efforts will directly benefit the rescue and care of other animals at P’nuts Freedom Farm, ensuring that we can continue to provide a safe haven for those in need."

On November 2nd, 2024, a Change.org^[16] petition titled "Call For Justice for Peanut the Squirrel and NYSDEC Reform" was also started, garnering over 58,600 signatures in roughly two days.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References