The Indianapolis Star reports:
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis is warning about hostile and possibly disease-ridden squirrels.
“Recently, there have been reports of aggressive squirrels around the IUPUI campus,” IUPUI wrote in a Campus Life blog post July 25. “Squirrels may look cute, and they are fun to watch scampering about, but they should not be treated as pets.”
Good luck with that message, IUPUI. I’ve been desperately imploring my own mother for ten years to stop feeding the disgusting monsters, but she will. not. quit. (Then again, I’ve also been telling her I’m a fucking adult for at least twice that long, and she doesn’t accept that either. So.)
Squirrels are known to carry diseases, including rabies, salmonella and even plague, the university said. IUPUI advised students and workers to stop feeding the furry menaces.
YES! “Furry menaces” is exactly right! You know, I never thought much of Indianapolis, but it has at least one university and one reporter at a major newspaper who are not under the spell of the evil enemy rodents. Color me impressed.
“If fed by humans often enough, they will stop foraging for their own food and will rely on humans,” the university said.
When squirrels get used to being fed, they lose their fear and start approaching people for a hand out.
If they don’t get food, the university said, the squirrels may attack.
WHY IS THIS SO HARD TO UNDERSTAND MOM.
Of course the Sciuridae do not necessarily attack the squirrel feeders treasonous enemy collaborators themselves, but innocent victims like little Maria Guerrero instead.
Maria Guerrero was viciously attacked by a squirrel three times in Brooklyn. She was one of at least five victims.
Obviously, the most important takeaway from this Indianapolis Star story is that when the coming Squirrelpocalypse descends upon us like a biblical (and actual!) plague, humans who remain unaffected by the enemy rodent’s cuteness superpowers may still find a safe refuge and organized resistance movement in Indianapolis. Of all places!
See you there.
blf says
There is a GIF of Bruce Lee kicking the shite out of a fecking huge squirrel menace at the IndyStar link.
(Actually, it’s not all that well done, and sort-of reminds me of the infamous giant rat in The Talons of Weng-Chiang — frequently mentioned as possibly the worse-realised monster in Doctor Who evar…)
Tabby Lavalamp says
The Mooch being fifteen squirrels in a bad suit? https://proxy.freethought.online/iris/2017/07/31/oh-noez-no-more-mooch/#comment-1683
They’ve had enough and have thrown aside the disguise.
kestrel says
You see, you CAN feed squirrels.
You just need to be careful to keep the brick out of sight behind your back. Keep luring them closer and closer and then WHAM. Dinner! That’s the way my uncle taught me. ;-) (true story…)
suttkus says
The worst realized monster in Doctor Who, ever, is the giant green… I’m actually not sure I can finish the description without it being moderated. Anyway, it’s big, it’s green, it looks like a giant sack with an extensible tube coming out near the top. Yeah, like that. It’s from The Creature That’s the Pits, wait, I mean The Creature From the Pit, season 17. The rest of the episode wasn’t great either.
No squirrels, though.
blf says
Yeah, Erato (the Tythonian ambassador) is a serious candidate for the worse-designed Doctor Who monster evar, mostly because of its very strong resemblence to, ah, well…, yes, ah-hum, continuing on here— and Tom Baker famously emphasized the presumably-unintended resemblance when the Doctor tried to talk to it…
Iris Vander Pluym says
blf 1: I tried uploading that GIF (and the other one) here, but the blog software wasn’t having it. : /
Tabby: You could be onto something with fifteen squirrels in a bad suit. But I’m pretty sure the Mooch is one of Dick Cheney’s Lizard People: he possesses no cuteness superpowers whatsoever, and the Squirrel People camouflage themselves by wearing a “D”.
kestrel: OMG I LOOOOOVE YOUR UNCLE.
suttkus + blf 5: Could it be a Squirrel Tythonian?