Usually, squirrels are the kind of neighbors you don’t mind—stealing birdseed, chirping from a branch, and maybe sprinting across a power line.
But in San Rafael, California, one squirrel has gone from background noise to public enemy No. 1.
According to ABC News, at least two people have been hospitalized after encounters with the rodent, which has been ambushing residents in Lucas Valley.
Flyers plastered around the neighborhood aren’t exaggerating either—they warn, “This is not a joke. More than five people have been attacked by a very mean squirrel over the past few days.”
Lisa Bloch, director of marketing and communications at Marin Humane, explained why this isn’t just your average nut thief.
“We’ve received 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,” she said.
Once wildlife loses its fear of humans, she added, things can get ugly fast.
For some locals, “ugly” is putting it lightly.
Joan Heblack thought she was going out for a walk when the squirrel decided she was the main course. “It came out of nowhere,” she told KGO-TV. “It clamped onto my leg. The tail was flying up here. I was like, ‘Get it off me, get off me!’”
Heblack ended up in the emergency room with severe scratches and bites.
Another victim, Isabel Campoy, said her encounter was even more chaotic. “Squirrel went from the floor, tried to jump up to my face,” she said. In trying to protect herself, her arm took the brunt of the attack. “Finally, it jumped off, by then I was full of blood. I run to the emergency room.”
Authorities haven’t confirmed all of the reported attacks, but the flyers and firsthand accounts are keeping residents on high alert.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service notes that feeding animals like squirrels is a significant problem—it makes them bold, unpredictable, and in rare cases, hostile.