Owner of Peanut the Squirrel Gives Update After N.Y. Authorities Seize Animal [Video]

The owner of a beloved squirrel influencer, Peanut, has given an update on the social media star after state authorities seized the animal in New York.

Peanut, who boasts 535,000 followers on Instagram and 423,000 on Facebook, was seized by officers from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, according to a statement made by the squirrel’s owner, Mark Longo, on Peanut’s official Instagram account on Wednesday, Oct. 30.

In a follow-up post shared on Friday, Nov. 1, Longo thanked fans of Peanut, whose name is also spelled P’Nut or PNUT, for their support and said there is a “small chance” he can get his pet back.

“I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for everybody coming together for this,” Longo began in the video. “I haven’t received any update on Peanut. We’re still in kind of the same waiting stage.”

Longo then continued, “But as we’re waiting, we still have to focus on …