At least two people have been sent to the emergency room after a bizarre new trend emerged in California: rampaging squirrels ambushing humans.
At least five people have been attacked by aggressive squirrels in San Rafael, a Bay Area community near San Francisco.
Isabel Campoy and her niece were among those hurt while walking through their neighborhood, saying the animal tried to viciously claw at her face.
She said: ‘She almost killed me… I tried to protect my face, my arm was completely overcome by [the] squirrel. Finally it jumped off, by then I was full of blood.’
Similar attacks in the area have left others with visible bites, cuts, and deep scratches across their legs and arms.
Locals have put up warning posters, suggesting that the rampage may have been carried out by the same gold-colored squirrel, but it’s still unclear if more than one animal was involved in the attacks.
Despite fears that the squirrels could be carrying a serious disease, animal experts said it’s highly unlikely they would have rabies.
Vanessa Potter from WildCare, a local wildlife rescue service, said it was more likely this sudden outburst of aggressive behavior was caused by humans treating the animals like pets when they were babies.
At least five people have been attacked by squirrels in San Rafael, California, prompting locals to put up warning posters
Isabel Campoy (pictured) was badly scratched and cut on her arms by one squirrel
‘If they associate people with food, they’re not afraid of them. They will look for food. If they don’t get it, there can be frustrations. They can be territorial of their space,’ the expert told ABC7.
Joan Heblack, another San Rafael resident, said she was out for a morning walk when a squirrel leaped up and clamped onto her leg.
Heblack added that the animal seemed to come out of nowhere and ran straight towards her.
The squirrel repeatedly bit the woman’s thigh, leaving her bloody and needing a trip to a local emergency room.
Potter added that this type of violent behavior among squirrels was not unheard of and mostly stemmed from the tiny tree critters having previous contact with people.
To limit those attacks, officials with WildCare said people should avoid feeding squirrels and other wild animals so they stop thinking of populated neighborhoods as places to find food.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said that small rodents such as squirrels, chipmunks, and mice rarely carry rabies, a fatal virus affecting the nervous system which can cause fever, agitation, and paralysis if untreated.
There are no documented cases of squirrels transmitting rabies to humans through a bite, however, these animals can carry other diseases which could threaten people.
Joan Heblack (pictured) was bitten repeatedly on the leg by an aggressive squirrel
Squirrels are not known to carry the rabies virus, but can transmit other diseases (stock Image)
The CDC has noted that bacterial infections, including Salmonellosis, Lyme disease, and even the plague, can all be transmitted to humans through contact with an infected squirrel, their waste, or fleas and ticks they’ve carried.
This year, many Americans throughout the country have also seen squirrels covered on horrifying pus bubbles.
While some on social media have suspected that the animals were carrying squirrel pox, a rare virus in the US that mainly affects red squirrels, others have pointed out that the illness is more likely to be squirrel fibromatosis.
This condition is caused by a different virus, resulting in wart-like growths that may ooze fluid but usually heal on their own, and is more common in US gray squirrels.
The spread of this condition has also been linked to human behavior, with wildlife experts saying homeowners who put bird feeders in their yards may be unintentionally causing the virus to spread to more squirrels.
As for the attacks in California, residents have said there haven’t been any new incidents for several days.
Despite that, the flyers warning locals to stay alert and steer clear of gold-colored squirrels have stayed up throughout the area.
It is illegal to keep squirrels as a pet in the state of California. It’s unknown if the animals attacking residents were once kept as pets and then set free.
