Prospect Park

Angry squirrel has residents going nuts in Prospect Park

Park Goers Urged to Keep Away from this Raging ‘Rocky’

July 25, 2017 By John Alexander Brooklyn Daily Eagle
This squirrel is gathering his nuts, while other squirrels are driving park goers nuts. Photo courtesy of Metro Creative Connection
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One year ago, the borough was dealing with crafty raccoons that were invading neighborhoods including Park Slope, Crown Heights, Sunset Park and Carroll Gardens.

This time, the problem is an aggressive squirrel that has attacked at least five people in Prospect Park, according to a report from ABC News.  This is certainly no friendly Rocket J. Squirrel, as this “anti-Rocky” has bitten five individuals between July 18 and 20. Four of the five bite victims have been identified.

But the problem seems to have dissipated as the raging rodent has not been spotted in the past few days. The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation has conducted an extensive search for the critter and come up empty-handed.

“Having observed the area over the weekend, park rangers report that the squirrel’s activity seems to have ceased,” according to a statement from the Parks Department. “We remind parkgoers not to approach wildlife of any kind, even if they don’t seem angry.”

The Parks Department told the Brooklyn Eagle that a total of three rangers searched the area four separate times.  They had snare poles, safety gloves and cages prepared while on patrol.

While scouring the sites of previous attacks, rangers spoke with patrons and looked for dead squirrels. Several live squirrels were noticed, but they appeared to behave normally.

The attacks occurred at the Parkside and Ocean Avenue entrance of Prospect Park. According to a report from CBS News, the New York City Health Department has urged any residents who were bitten by a squirrel in the area after July 10 to get checked by a doctor immediately.

According to officials, squirrels are rarely infected with rabies, but the atypical aggressive nature of the attacks has led them to assume that the animal is rabid. If this is the case, officials said, the squirrel is probably already dead.

 

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