Red, it was from hitting it, going down a hill at about 40 mph. Luckily, one half of the fork stayed attached and he was able to stop the bike. He was on a lunch time ride and someone, who was a cyclist, stopped and gave him a ride back to the office. When he took the bike to the LBS where the Trek dealer looked at it, they didn't believe him, either, until they saw the squirrel fur and blood on the bike.
However, Trek did not pay for a new fork, but DH did try, since it was a new bike.