Two people go to ER after squirrel attack

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — A California town is being terrorized by a vicious... squirrel.

There have been several squirrel attacks that have sent at least two people to the hospital, ABC News reported.

The attacks may stem from people not following the guidance of not feeding wild animals.

“We’ve received reports at least two reports of people being attacked by a squirrel in a neighborhood of San Rafael. This behavior is unusual for squirrels and is likely the result of someone feeding it,” Marin Humane director of marketing and communications, Lisa Bloch, told ABC News in a statement.

“When wildlife is fed by humans, they can lose their natural fear and act more emboldened. This is why we remind people that feeding wildlife can have negative consequences - for both people and the animals,” she said.

One squirrel attack victim said she was on a walk when she was targeted.

“It came out of nowhere. I didn’t see him running up to me at all. It clamped onto my leg. The tail was flying up here. I was like, ‘Get it off me, get it off me!’ I didn’t want to touch it,” Joan Heblack told KGO.

“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,” she told KRON.

She said the squirrel clawed and bit her and that she had to go to the emergency room for treatment.

"Very scary. How do you get a squirrel attached to your leg off?" she said.

Another woman said the squirrel went for her face.

“Squirrel went from the floor tried to jump up to my face, I tried to protect my face, my arm was completely overcome by squirrel. Finally it jumped off, by then I was full of blood, I run to the emergency room,” Isabel Campoy told KGO.

Bloch believes it is the same squirrel.

“The squirrel has a particular coloring. He’s kind of a caramel color or a golden color and that’s a little bit more unique,” Bloch told KTVU.

And while the attacks can hurt, Bloch said that squirrels in the area do not carry rabies; however, they can carry other diseases.

“It doesn’t mean that they can’t, you know, inflict pain,” Bloch added. “They have sharp claws, and they have teeth and so it is something to take seriously,” she said.

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