Can you imagine an elephant without its trunk, a kangaroo without its pouch, a turtle without his shell? What about a squirrel without a tail?

No one knows exactly what happened to the tailless squirrel that has been spotted near Music Hall and Carver on the Iowa State campus, but William Clark, professor of animal ecology, and Jim Pease, assistant professor of animal ecology, said most likely his tail was run over by a car.

“[It’s] very unlikely that it was born that way … It might not have lost its tail when it got hit, but it would eventually rot off,” Clark said.

But Clark said the squirrel could still live a normal, happy squirrel life and it probably won’t be hampered too much by the loss.

“On campus [the squirrel’s] natural predators are very few, so its life span will probably not be affected adversely,” he said.

However, the squirrel might be facing a very cold winter without its tail. Clark said one of the main reasons squirrels have big, fluffy tails is to keep them warm in the winter.

Pease said squirrels use their tails as a sort of rudder or sail to control their balance when they jump from branch to branch, tree to tree, and this squirrel will probably encounter some challenges. “But it will probably adapt,” he said.

Some students have proposed taking up a collection to give the squirrel some medical attention, but Pease said if the squirrel has stayed alive this long, medical treatment and captivity would probably only harm it.

“It’s a nice sentiment, but it’s probably not necessary,” he said.