Killer Squirrels Out For Blood

Yesterday my girlfriend and I were debating the relative appeal of squirrels and rats. They are both similarly sized rodents, and both can carry disease, yet squirrels are loved by all and have become a symbol of bucolic suburbia while rats are universally loathed. I suggested that merely having a thick, bushy tail was to blame for the wildly divergent opinions about the similar creatures, while my girlfriend argued that squirrels are cute, and rats are gross.

Well, here's an article that may start to reverse the tide of pro-squirrel propaganda.

From the San Francisco Gate:

Boy Attacked By Squirrel In Mtn. View Park

A fierce squirrel attacked a 4-year-old boy at Mountain View's Cuesta Park last week as the rodent tried to wrestle a muffin out of the boy's hands, leaving him with scratch and bite marks that prompted a series of precautionary rabies shots.

The skirmish wasn't the first time the park's numerous tree squirrels targeted picnickers.

Mountain View Community Services Director David Muela said today that as many as six people have been bitten or scratched by squirrels since May, and that the attacks have become more ferocious in the last month. One squirrel even went so far as to jump into a child's stroller.

Full article here.