This boy’s sneezing is a lot more powerful than his animal species recognition.
This poor prairie dog from Okazaki City East Park Zoo in Aichi Prefecture has become an unintentional Internet sensation after getting the fright of its life from a human sneeze. Little prairie dog was just sitting back, chilling, relaxing, enjoying life, when some human decided to (accidentally) sneeze not far from its perch.
You can check out the awfully hilarious video here:
くしゃみしてミーアキャット驚かせてしまった😷ww ごめん🍃 pic.twitter.com/TcUS1BsqMm
— きむぱん (@I70cm) December 17, 2016
Not only does the prairie dog get the fright of its life, the boy (“Kimupan”) is also shocked by the effect of his powerful sneeze, and quickly apologizes to the prairie dog as it escapes back to the safety of its den.
Kimupan posted the video to Twitter on Saturday with the caption: “I frightened a meerkat with my sneeze. Haha. I’m sorry”. The tweet has already amassed over 110,000 retweets.
Of course, Kimupan’s animal identification blunder added to the hilarity of the post.
▼ The following day Kimupan posted, “It’s not a meerkat!!!!! It’s a prairie dog!!!!!”
ミーアキャットじゃねーぞ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!プレーリードッグ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
— きむぱん (@I70cm) December 18, 2016
▼ Meerkats do look somewhat similar to prarie dogs, though.
Here’s what some people have been saying online about that sneeze:
“I have a prairie dog for a pet and it makes the same noise when I sneeze.”
“This is too funny!”
“I laughed my head off. Haha. This is too cute.”
“I’ve watched this so many times. I’m addicted. Haha.”
“It’s cute… but it’s a prairie dog. Haha.”
Let’s hope this poor little prairie dog’s heart has recovered and the event hasn’t taken too many years off its life.
If you were hoping to get a glimpse of some meerkats, here are some adorable pet meerkats drawing a crowd while they play on the streets of Ginza.
Source: Twitter/@170cm
Feature image: Twitter/@170cm
Insert image: Wikipedia/CharlesjSharp


Tiny Japanese girl blows the Internet/herself away with her adorably big sneeze【Video】
New Japanese overnight train coming to connect Tokyo with Tohoku in sleep-travel style
Japan’s cheap beef bowl chain goes upscale with Matsuya Premium, but is it worth the higher price?
7-Eleven Japan joins the craze for Korean Gamja Cheese Balls
Lawson transforms convenience store food with massive katsu burger and an insane curry bread
Starbucks Japan releases special limited-edition summer drinks… at only 30 stores
Two of Kyoto’s famous temples tackle streetside trash with solar-powered trash cans
East Japan Railway announces plans to abolish magnetic-strip tickets
Anne Hathaway creates PR frenzy in Japan after mentioning Tottori in Devil Wears Prada interview
New Square Enix Cafe reveals Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Nier, and Fullmetal Alchemist menu items
Luxury houseplant fraud leads to arrest of Takamatsu man
Even at twice regular Daiso price, this handy item is still great for summer travel in Japan
Ghibli’s No Face continues to demonstrate his generous character growth by dispensing soy sauce
Japanese rice cooker recipe gives us a tasty new way to enjoy vegetables and wieners
Family Mart commits “reverse fraud” in new Giant All-Star Festival, and we couldn’t be happier
New Tokyo sweets shop offers 648 different mochi ice cream dumpling combinations
Colour Hunting: The hot new street photography trend changing how we see Japan
Body of missing American college student found in Kyoto mountains
Tokyo’s life-size Gundam anime mecha statue will be removed this summer
Ichiraku Ramen-inspired ramen sets from Naruto anime pay homage to Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura
Kanji ice cream becomes a sell-out hit in Japan
Uniqlo reveals third round of massive 100-year-anniversary manga T-shirts for Jump’s Shueisha
New official Ghibli anime food cookbook will teach you how to make Ponyo’s ramen and more
Japanese convenience store Lawson launches new “mini supermarket” chain, L Minimart
Japan’s real-world Pokémon hot spring’s first photos are here![Photos]
Kyoto public junior high school becomes first in Japan with a hoodie school uniform
Japanese convenience store shows us how to dress for the rainy season
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa
Japan’s 5.3 million beautiful Hitachi Nemophila flowers are now in full bloom[Photos]
Pokémon and Ikea Japan cross over into each other’s worlds with collaboration events