U.S. wrestler Ellis ‘The Flying Squirrel’ Coleman has actual flying squirrel as pet … but ‘it keeps biting me’

Yes, Greco-Roman wrestler Ellis Coleman is nicknamed the Flying Squirrel, for his signature wrestling move. So of course he had to go out and buy an actual flying squirrel, which he keeps as a pet. And what else would you name it but Rocky? Here’s a photo of the little critter.

Coleman just arrived in London for the Olympics, so someone back in his native Chicago is squirrel sitting. Hopefully, before he left, Coleman had his requisite shots — because he says the squirrel has been biting him.

And then last month, in the ultimate act of nickname embracement, he purchased an living, breathing flying squirrel at the mall.

The nocturnal rodent — named Rocky – cost about $500 and now lives with Coleman at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. The animal’s diet consists of a lot of apples, which his owner says he eats like candy.

“When he has fully bonded, I can put him in my pocket and pretty much take him wherever I want to go,” Coleman told reporters at a media availability today. “I’m trying to bond with him and get on a higher level with him, but right now he bites me all the time.”

My first and only question: what store at the mall sells flying squirrels? Bed Bath & Rodents doesn’t stock them — I’ve asked.