Was the squirrel running predictably? It seems like he would have been safer by doing his squirrel-running predictably on a ROAD instead of on a trail in the woods. If the squirrel had just done so and taken the lane, the cyclist would have been forced to pass safely.

I think what's happened is that after decades of the expansion of the Automobile Economy and the Automobile Culture, too many squirrels have "Sciuridae Inferiority Complex." As baby squirrels they were never taught to act like other road users, and now when grown they're afraid to run on the roads. And now it's trails, MSqPs, special squirrel crossings, and other infrastructure designed to grade-separate squirrels from automobiles, cyclists, and other road users.

When will these animals understand that they can safely be a part of traffic?