The Marin County Humane Society said a string of squirrel attacks have been reported during the past two and a half weeks near an intersection in Novato. He was clinging pretty hard.
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The most recent attack was on a 78-year-old man, Richard Williams.
Before you ask, it’s unlikely we have a Cujo situation here: The Center for Disease Control says that squirrels “are nearly never found to be infected with rabies and have not been known to cause rabies among humans in the United States”.
The local Marin Humane Society has appealed for calm.
They say it was likely once a pet that has lost its natural fear of humans. “When I got him off, he’d get back on”, Williams told the Marin Independent Journal.
A squirrel ran up to the victims, crawled up their bodies and bit the victims in the arms, legs, hands or head, and there have been reports the squirrel jumped out of a tree and attacked the victims, Bloch said.
Beyond that, investigators are taking each call seriously and think the attacks could be linked to one individual squirrel.
“And then he jumped her”, said Richard. “I guess I hit the squirrel with it”. His glasses were also broken during the scuffle. “It was quite an experience”, he said. Both got dozens of shots, including vaccines for rabies and tetanus.
“All of the attacks have been within just a few days of each other”, Bloch said in a written statement. The department said rabies is rare in squirrels, but the victims are being treated with anti-rabies medication as a precaution.
The humane society recommends residents in the area of the attacks cut back trees that overhang roofs and are close to telephone lines.
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“It’s unusual”, she said.
