San Rafael residents say squirrels are attacking people

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (KRON) — San Rafael residents are reporting squirrel attacks around their Lucas Valley neighborhood. In recent days, a squirrel has ambushed and bitten people, residents said.

Squirrel attack victim Joan Heblack told KRON4, “I was just walking along, and suddenly, there’s a squirrel attached to my thigh. Just clomped down on my thigh. I look down and I was like ‘What is that?’ I said, ‘Get off, get off.’ I was trying to brush him off. He was just clinging more and biting.”

Heblack finally managed to detach the squirrel from her leg and sought medical attention.

A few doors down from Heblack, another resident said her husband was attacked by a squirrel when he tried to stop it from biting into his wooden fence on Friday.

Marie Ayoob told KRON4, “It took a big chunk of the wood and we thought, ‘Oh my gosh, she’s hungry or something. Joe, my husband, took off his cap and hit it so it can go away, and (the squirrel) turned around and jumped on his head.”

He suffered a scratch behind his ear. The couple said more than five of their neighbors have also been attacked by squirrels. While the animals can be cute, they also have strong teeth and sharp claws.

Some residents said they are feeling weary about stepping outside, and squirrel attack warning fliers have been posted around the neighborhood. The posters describe the offending animal as “a very mean squirrel” that “comes out of nowhere.”

“This is not a joke,” the posters warn.

WildCare is a wildlife hospital, nature education center, and wildlife advocacy organization in Marin County. A WildCare spokesperson said aggressive behavior is almost always the result of squirrels being fed by humans.

“WildCare has received numerous calls about a squirrel attacking residents in the Lucas Valley neighborhood of San Rafael. Unfortunately, the squirrel is most likely approaching people and biting them because he was raised by people, or has been hand-fed by a humans, but is now on his own, uncertain about how to forage, and desperate for food. Squirrels are naturally shy animals,” the spokesperson wrote.

The wildlife hospital is currently caring for 51 baby squirrels.

“Especially right now, when the local tree squirrels are having their second brood of babies for the summer, it’s common for baby squirrels to end up on the ground. People sometimes find fallen baby squirrels, and decide to keep them and raise them themselves. There are many reasons doing this is a bad idea,” the spokesperson wrote.

A baby squirrel that is raised by humans doesn’t understand why some people feed it, and other people don’t.

WildCare frequently sees squirrels brought in by people who attempted to raise them as babies and later realized how difficult it is to do.

San Rafael’s aggressive squirrel may have escaped from well-intentioned people, or was released once it became too wild and “squirrely,” according to WildCare.

“The lesson here is don’t feed wildlife, and always bring orphaned baby animals to WildCare for care. We make sure they remain wild,” the spokesperson told KRON4.