Recently, New York squirrels were found to attack humans, a not insignificant phenomenon as explained by our environment reporter, Sophie Brems in The 6-8.
Katherine Pancol would probably say once again that Central Park squirrels are sad on Mondays given the recent exchanges between humans and animals in the New York city. Indeed, several residents of the Rego Park neighborhood in Queens complained at the end of 2020 of bites and claws caused by squirrels.
Some victims have directly been vaccinated against rabies, not knowing the diseases they can carry.
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An impressive number of squirrels in New York
Such a phenomenon is however not new in the parks of New Yorkers tempers Sophie Brems. Some joggers had already alerted the authorities after being bitten by squirrels in 2017. “There are even signs saying to be careful because squirrels can be aggressive”. We generally advise not to feed them.
Those responsible for these attacks are gray squirrels. These animals are present in droves at Big Apple. “We counted all over New York nearly a million. same in Central Park there was a census: we are beyond 2000 squirrels who settled ” specifies the journalist and columnist.
If you are going to visit New York, “do not feed the squirrels” advises the latter. “If they have to eat without doing anything, they will hunt less and reproduce much more easily. There are fewer predators, all this explains why these squirrels are present in large numbers”.
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No attacks to fear in Belgium
Does this mean that we should fear squirrel attacks in Belgium? Not at all according to Sophie Brems and for the simple reason that the species is different in our regions. In Europe, the red squirrel predominates.
Besides its color, it is differentiated by kinds of small brushes above the ears, which he only wears in autumn and winter, and in his best agility in the trees.
However, vigilance remains in order for this species as to a probable arrival of the gray squirrel in our regions. “because he carries a virus that the red squirrel cannot resist” reports the journalist.
If the gray squirrel has not yet been listed in Belgium, a second species, already lives in our territories, Korean squirrel : “It annoys the red squirrel because it lives in the same area and is competitive for food”.
Its introduction comes from man, who used to buy them in pet shops, before the ban in such an act, and who sometimes released him in the wild, no longer knowing how to take care of them. This species also proliferates and unbalances the reign of the red squirrel.
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The cohabitation between squirrel and man
It is precisely this help from human beings that explains such a density of squirrels in the New York region.
“These are animals that have also been introduced by humans. It was eradicated because of urbanization and then it was put back into the wild” Explain Sophie Brems.
L’introduction of a new species must always be done in a certain balance and these attacks can be explained by the long cohabitation between squirrels and humans. Regularly brought into contact with many people who feed them, they would be less and less afraid of man and would impose themselves more and more on their territory. After all, wouldn’t it be the man who implanted himself in the animal?
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