Toronto squirrel eating Jamaican patty goes viral as 'Patty Squirrel,' answering to New York's Pizza Rat

A squirrel in Kensington Market is gaining viral attention after being caught on camera casually devouring a Jamaican patty outside one of the neighbourhood's best-known patty shops.

On Wednesday, comedian Big Norm Alconcel posted a video on Instagram of a black squirrel eating a patty outside Golden Patty, a longtime fixture inside Kensington Market. In the video, Alconcel joked that this had to be "one of the most Toronto things" he'd seen, asking followers whether they'd ever witnessed such a scene.

Alconcel told others that the squirrel's snack was his doing—his friend was about to throw away a curry goat patty, so he offered it to the "pregnant squirrel" he spotted nearby. "I am a squirrel whisperer. They love me," he said. "She enjoyed the hell out of it."

The combination of a Toronto squirrel, Kensington Market, and a Jamaican patty immediately resonated online. Torontonians quickly dubbed the critter "Patty Squirrel"—Toronto's answer to New York's infamous "Pizza Rat," a viral video from years earlier showing a rat dragging a pizza slice down NYC subway stairs.

"New York has Pizza Rat, we have Patty Squirrel," one commenter wrote. Another summed it up: "Yoooo, Toronto af." One user noted, "I've never seen a black squirrel... but I'm not surprised the only Black one I've ever seen in my life is eating a patty."

Alconcel also reflected on the moment's broader meaning: "It was a squirrel on the Esplanade, eating a Jamaican patty from Kensington that was purchased by a Montrealer, made by Chinese Jamaicans, fed to her by a Filipino from Scarborough. A true Canadian Heritage Moment."

Alconcel mentioned that he normally sees squirrels eating patties in Scarborough, suggesting the city's bold urban wildlife and food culture had simply collided in the perfect storm.