Squirrels Are Our Friends, or Are They?

Whether we grew up with pets in the house or not, most of us appreciate animals and enjoy watching, petting, and taking care of them. We often encounter furry friends on camping trips, at playgrounds, or during walks through the park. Children in particular have an immense affinity for animals and love to pet them and play with them. Most of us view petting as an innocuous activity and, in the majority of cases, it is. However, in the case of animals in the wild, we would do well to keep in mind that these are not domesticated creatures and, as such, they can be utterly unpredictable. To illustrate this point, consider the following two real-life examples culled from recent news stories and associated with one of the most harmless animals we can imagine - our old friend, the squirrel.

In one case, a mother and two children, aged 7 and 5, were walking in a park where there were a lot of squirrels. The park was not large and it was well groomed, so there was no reason to anticipate that there could be any danger. Upon seeing a particularly excited squirrel in the branches of a nearby tree, the mother stopped and began to tell her children about the squirrel - how it lives, what it eats, and how it can jump from branch to branch and balance with the aid of its bushy tail. As they stood there, to the children's delight, the squirrel began to jump through the trees, getting closer and closer to them. In fact, they wished that they had some food on them so they could feed the squirrel.

Suddenly, the squirrel scampered down and jumped on the head of one of the children. It balanced itself on the top of the child's head, bunching up its body, its tail straight up in the air. The child was so scared he could not move. As long as the child remained immobile, the squirrel just sat there. However, when the mother tried to chase it off, the squirrel attacked. It bit the mother all over her arms and face, causing significant damage. The poor woman was bleeding profusely and the young children were in hysterics as they made their way out of the park.

The second recent situation worth mentioning was a discovery made near San Diego. There are several campgrounds around the city with significant squirrel populations. It was recently discovered that significant proportions of these populations are infected with rodent plague. The local health and disease protection agencies are aware of the situation, and have begun to keep a close eye on these populations, conducting tests and implementing preventive measures. Information about infected areas has been made available and disseminated to campers in order to avoid incidents.

Most of us would never imagine that squirrels could be a source of danger. We love to watch them and to feed them.However, it would be a mistake to assume that a creature in the wild, no matter how cute and furry, can ever be completely harmless. City dwellers in particular are likely to underestimate the danger of interaction with undomesticated animals. We are so used to being in contact with well-behaved dogs, cats, hamsters, and other animals in the urban environment that we automatically assume that most animals behave in the same way. However, this can be a dangerous assumption.

The key in interaction with animals in the wild, regardless of their size or cuteness factor, is to respect their space and their territory. In most situations where an animal attack takes place, the individual or individuals under attack took deliberate steps which placed them in the midst of the animal's stomping grounds. In a sense, this is the equivalent of an animal coming into our house. Most of us enjoy watching squirrels in the wild, but would be less than thrilled about them suddenly jumping through our living room. By respecting the animal's territory and exercising caution, you can ensure that your camping trip or walk through the park does not end up like one of those stories featured in the news.