COMMENT: Protein starved killer squirrels

Within hours of posting "California’s gourmet squirrel", an esteemed colleague, Dr Robert Horwich sent this comment to my personal e-mail.

SUBJECT: SQUIRRELS KILL DOG

"You ain't seen nothing yet - check this one’r else. And be careful when you are in the woods. A good-sized pack of squirrels will pull you down by your ankles."

Dr Horwich included a forwarded link from the respected BBC. Read it--it reports on a pack of killer squirrels in the Russian Far East alleged to have slain a luckless hound.

Dr Horwich, who could be considered a "squirrel whisperer" was dubious that the squirrels actually attacked and killed the hound "…unless it was near death." He added, "They probably were just gnawing on the body like some of your observations."

Though squirrel bites can be painful, a dog dying of squirrel bites is as likely as a person dying from duck bites. While conceding that truth is sometimes stranger than fiction, my theory is that the three locals reporting the incident had impaired cognitive processes due to vodka.