Water-skiing squirrel delights crowds in Florida – and she can’t get enough of the camera
A water-skiing squirrel shows impressive water tricks to crowds of fans in an adorable video.
Owners Toni Marie Tedesco, 36, and husband Chuck Best Jr., 41, of Florida, know how to put on a show with their super-talented pets after teaching their squirrels how to water ski.
They took over her husband’s family business, Twiggy the water ski squirrel, and regularly put on shows and entertained crowds with their squirrels, so this is something the squirrels love to do.
Twiggy is actually the fourth squirrel named Twiggy trained to water ski by the Florida couple.
The original was rescued as a baby in 1978 by Chuck and Lou Ann Best after being blown out of its nest during a hurricane.
A water-skiing squirrel demonstrates impressive water tricks to crowds of fans in an adorable video
Toni explains, “Chuck grew up with this because his parents are the ones who founded Twiggy the Waterskiing Squirrel. For myself: I’ve been doing this for two years.
“All our squirrels are rescues! We do not breed or take squirrels from the wild. When we rehabilitate squirrels, they become part of our family and are extremely pampered and well cared for.
“Once you’ve earned an animal’s love and trust, it’s easy!”
‘Squirrels are super smart animals; We start by leaving the squirrels on the skis out of the water and then we walk them around in the pool and let them do a lap.
“It takes a few months and the exercise only takes about five to ten minutes, we don’t force them, it’s something they like to do.”
“There’s nothing difficult about teaching a squirrel to water ski. Every squirrel has a different personality and if he doesn’t want to learn how to water ski, that’s fine with us.
‘The feedback we’ve received at shows has been outstanding! Everyone who comes to the shows absolutely loves it.
“Children are always laughing and cheering, but for me the greatest satisfaction is seeing grown adults having a great time.
‘We always get compliments after the shows. When we post videos on social media, we get negative feedback.
Twiggy while water skiing in front of a packed audience
Owners Toni Marie Tedesco, 36, and husband Chuck Best Jr., 41, of Florida, know how to put on a show with their super-talented pets after teaching their squirrels how to water ski
Apparently it takes a few months and you practice the skill, but it’s something the squirrels love to do
They took over her husband’s family business, Twiggy the water ski squirrel, and regularly put on shows and entertained crowds with their squirrels, so this is something the squirrels love to do.
The shows they put on are not only the thrill of a squirrel water skiing, but it is also aimed at educating people about water safety (Chuck with Twiggy)
Since 1979 there have been 11 ‘Twiggy’s’ who have learned to water ski
Toni said, ‘Kids are always laughing and cheering, but for me the greatest satisfaction is seeing grown adults having a great time’
Toni said squirrels are “super smart” animals and it doesn’t take long to train them (picture Twiggy the squirrel)
“I think it’s because people haven’t seen a show or watched our other videos to know our whole story and what we’re doing.
“The shows we put on are not only the thrill of a squirrel water skiing, but it is also aimed at educating people about water safety, saving/rehabilitating squirrels and that 100% of the donations we receive go back to squirrel rehabilitations.
“There have been 11 Twiggys since 1979 who have learned to water ski.”
The idea of teaching the first Twiggy to water ski came from a prank after Mr. Best bought his daughter a remote-controlled boat.
When friends teased that he actually bought it for himself because he played with it so much, he joked, “I need to learn how to sail so I can teach my squirrel to water ski.”
It wasn’t long before the squirrel caught the attention of the press and calls poured in to television programs wanting her to perform.
The Bests decided their squirrel needed a stage name and chose Twiggy, as she chewed off the leaves of Mrs. Best’s houseplants, leaving nothing but twigs.
When Mr. Best drowned in 1997 after rescuing his stepfather from the water, Mrs. Best stopped touring with the third Twiggy.
But as the demand for Twiggy continued, she trained the fourth Twiggy and returned to the show circuit, only this time delivering a water safety message and urging people to learn how to swim and wear a life jacket while boating.
The latest Twiggy traveled the world and even starred in two movies: Dodgeball and Anchorman.