Residents of Buckley, Wales, were left in shock after a gray squirrel wreaked havoc, injuring 18 people in just two days.
According to the Evening Standard, the villagers of Buckley have been too afraid to leave their homes as the squirrel, nicknamed Stripe, attacked several individuals, requiring them to visit the hospital.
The gray squirrel named Stripe has injured 18 people in just two days in Wales. (Photo: New York Post)
On a community Facebook page, residents shared terrifying stories about this squirrel.
“Warning about the attack of an aggressive squirrel,” Nicola Crowther wrote on Facebook on December 26, mentioning that she and several friends had been bitten by this squirrel.
“It also attacked my two Bengal cats and the neighbor’s cats. Now I’m afraid to leave the house,” Crowther shared.
Scott Felton reported that he was attacked by Stripe while smoking.
“I thought it wanted to be fed, but before I had a chance to do that, it bit me.”
Felton also posted on Facebook: “Normally, I wouldn’t share such content on Facebook, but this incident was so unexpected and resulted in my injury. I had to go to the hospital. This is something I never wanted.”
Many others have shared images of their wounds and bruises believed to be caused by Stripe. Some victims had to go to the hospital for a tetanus shot after being attacked.
This squirrel injured 18 residents and other animals before Corinne Reynolds—a local who knew Stripe’s weakness for nuts—intervened to stop the attacks.
Corinne Reynolds had been feeding this squirrel since summer, and despite her love for animals, she decided to take action after being bitten by Stripe herself and witnessing numerous posts about the squirrel’s attacks on Facebook.
“Honestly, Stripe made me concerned about its unusual behavior,” Reynolds shared. The woman then set a trap for the aggressive squirrel by placing a cage filled with nuts—Stripe’s favorite food—in her garden. Reynolds handed the squirrel over to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), as releasing it back into the wild in the UK is illegal.
A spokesperson for the RSPCA stated that the decision was made in accordance with local laws.
“We are very sorry to have to put this squirrel to sleep permanently, but we have no other choice because changes in the law in 2019 made it illegal to release gray squirrels into the wild. We do not agree with this law and oppose it, but we must comply with the law,” the organization stated.
