Over the weekend, at least one person took to Reddit to claim they were unprovoked by a squirrel in the Browns Point area of Pierce County.
The News Tribune contacted the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and found that five squirrels were “fatally removed” at gunpoint on Friday after “displaying behavior that was habituated to humans.”
One commenter on the Tacoma Reddit thread claimed that a squirrel appeared out of nowhere while they were near their car near Browns Point. The commenter did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The News Tribune on Monday.
“I felt one run up my back and onto my head. I tried shaking it and swatting it away and that’s when it jumped[ed] onto my arm and bit my hand hard. It stayed there for a minute before I took it off. They posted on Friday that they had to kick it in the face several times before it finally escaped. Some friends on a local FB group told me there have been other squirrel attacks in the same area.
Because Browns Point is in unincorporated Pierce County outside of Tacoma, the News Tribune called the Sheriff’s Office, which has an animal control unit. Spokeswoman Carly Cappetto said Monday that the department received two emails late last week about aggressive squirrels in Brown’s Point. In one case, Cappetto said, a person “crouched down to feed a squirrel and the squirrel jumped on them and bit them.”
The case was turned over to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, as were all cases involving wildlife, she said. Cappetto said the county’s animal control department only handles cases involving domestic or exotic animals.
Bridget Mill of the Department of Fish and Wildlife told The News Tribune via email Monday that the department received a report Friday that a Tacoma resident had been bitten by a squirrel and they were treated.
“In Washington, only bats are known to carry the rabies virus,” Mir said. “WDFW enforcement officers responded to the scene and fatally removed five squirrels whose behavior indicated they were habituated to humans.”
Mill said WDFW generally discourages people from feeding wildlife “because it may lead to unnatural behavior in wildlife and may increase human-wildlife conflicts.”
Meer said feeding wild animals can cause them to lose their natural fear of humans, which could make them aggressive or vulnerable. Some wild animals are unable to properly digest food provided by humans and may become sick or die, she said. Some animals carry diseases that can be transmitted to humans and pets, and animals may cross busy roads to access human food sources, Mill said.
“Feeding wildlife is illegal under certain circumstances. Feeding deer, elk, moose and large carnivores is illegal in Washington due to concerns about the spread of wildlife diseases and/or human-wildlife conflicts,” Mill said. “WDFW also urges people not to feed feral or stray cats and to pick up outdoor pet food when not feeding their pets. Pet food often attracts wildlife, including predators.”
Cappetto said if someone is bitten by an animal such as a squirrel, they should call WDFW to report it.