'Absolutely nuts': Squirrels hide more than 200 walnuts under hood of Pennsylvania couple's SUV

PITTSBURGH - A Pittsburgh area couple found out where all their walnuts have gone after discovering that squirrels apparently stored more than 200 of them under the hood of their SUV.

Chris Persic posted a photo of the walnut collection on Facebook, writing that his wife called to say the vehicle smelled “like it was burning and was making a weird sound.”

“I told her to pop the hood, and this is the picture that she sent me,” Persic wrote.

The photo shows walnuts and grass piled over the vehicle’s engine. Persic said it took almost an hour to clean the vehicle enough take it to a mechanic to be checked out.

He said there was no extensive damage, but a squirrel may have chewed through or pulled out the fuel injector hose on his new truck.

“Long story short, if you park outside, do yourself a favor and check under the hood every once in awhile,” he wrote. “My truck may have had a squirrel chew through/pull out a fuel injector hose, and Holly’s looked like they were storing up for the next 3 winters. Was absolutely nuts...no pun intended.”

The couple said they received a quote on removing a black walnut tree from their property, KDKA reported.

This story was reported from Cincinnati. The Associated Press contributed.