Aggressive Squirrel Sends Marin Residents To ER, Sparks Neighborhood Warning: Report

SAN RAFAEL, CA — An aggressive squirrel has bitten multiple people in a Marin County neighborhood, sending several residents to the emergency room and prompting warnings from wildlife officials, according to a report by KQED.

Residents in the Lucas Valley-Marinwood community told KQED the squirrel has attacked several people near Mount Diablo Circle and Mount Lassen Drive, approaching them aggressively before biting.

Subscribe

Marie Ayoob told KQED the squirrel attacked her husband, Joe, after he tried to shoo it away.

"She jumped on his head, scratched his ear and then landed on his leg," Marie told KQED. "He pushed her off, and she finally scurried away.

Neighbors said another person attending a nearby open house was also bitten. Wildlife officials have since posted warning signs throughout the neighborhood while they investigate.

The Marin Humane Society said people should never hand-feed squirrels, which may make them more comfortable approaching humans. Wildlife experts are also investigating whether the animal is acting aggressively to protect a nearby nest, according to KQED.

Similar attacks have occurred in the Lucas Valley-Marinwood neighborhood before.

Last year, multiple people were bitten by what residents described as an aggressive squirrel, sending at least two people to the emergency room and prompting warning flyers throughout the neighborhood. Wildlife experts later told Patch the squirrel had likely been raised or regularly fed by humans, causing it to lose its natural fear of people.

While squirrel attacks on people are uncommon, California ground squirrels are more adaptable than once believed. A UC Davis study published last year found the animals can behave as opportunistic omnivores, hunting and eating small rodents when food is abundant — a discovery researchers said highlights how flexible their behavior can be.

None of the people bitten were treated for rabies, according to KQED. Wildlife experts said squirrels rarely carry the disease, and there are no known cases of a person in the United States contracting rabies from a squirrel.

Read the full story at KQED.