Squirrels: America's tiny menace
Squirrels may look unassuming, but these little critters have been known to cause big trouble. In fact, in the past few years, they've disrupted businesses, sporting events and taken down other creatures you'd never believe they could.
By CBS News Staff Writer Christina Capatides
Shoplifting squirrel steals in Disney World
A shoplifting squirrel was caught stealing from a store in Disney World's Magic Kingdom in June 2018. Video shows the furry bandit sitting in a bin full of candy. Someone then attempts to swat the squirrel away, but he's too quick. He picks the bag of candy he wants, jumps off the low-lying shelf and scurries away. His candy of choice: M&Ms -- peanut, of course.
Squirrels going nuts
A squirrel that got inside of a Florida senior-living center in 2016 started biting and scratching people until someone managed to toss him outside. At least three people were injured, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Rock squirrel? More like Rocky
On July 8, 2015, a West Texas Park Ranger heard a commotion in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park and discovered this rock squirrel battling a snake. It didn’t take long for the squirrel to claim a decisive victory.
“The squirrel devoured most of the snake, bones and all, down to the last two inches,” read The National Park Service’s Facebook post.
Drunk squirrel thrown out of bar
A squirrel in the UK broke into the Honeybourne Railway pub, July 12, 2015, and caused over $400 worth of damage. “There were bottles scattered around, money scattered around and he had obviously run across the bar’s pumps and managed to turn on the Caffrey’s tap,” Sam Boulter, the owner, told the Western Daily Press. “He must have flung himself on the handle and he must have drank some as he was staggering around all over the place.”
Boulter ultimately trapped the little drunk with a trashcan and threw him out of the bar.
Wanted: Nut thief
When $128,000 worth of nuts went missing from a loaded tractor trailer near Detroit, the weekend of June 27, 2015, police in Michigan posted this mugshot to their Facebook page in the hope of tracking down the culprit.
While they probably don’t really believe a single critter made away with the roughly 28,000 pounds of packaged walnuts that were stolen, it appears they’re not ruling out the possibility of organized squirrel crime.
Squirrels going nuts
17-year-old Brian Genest of Auburn, Maine was hiking through John Chestnut Park in Florida, when the flash from his camera spooked a local squirrel. The animal responded by climbing up under Genest’s shirt and clinging to his back.
“He was just in that spot where my arm can’t reach him,” Genest said. “I threw myself on the ground and that scared him off.”
Squirrel arrested for stalking
Police in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany arrested this squirrel on July 15, 2015, after a distressed woman reported that the critter was aggressively chasing her around the city of Bottrop. The woman told police that she had tried to give the animal the slip several times, but simply could not lose him.
Police officers “arrested” the animal and took it back to the station, where they discovered it was suffering from exhaustion. The Recklinghausen Police Department then posted a video to its Facebook page of an officer nursing the little culprit back to health with some honey.
Squirrels going nuts
This squirrelly little guy climbed up the protective netting behind home plate at a Phillies-Cardinals baseball game, June 19, 2015. He then scurried along the support wire around the field and nosedived nearly 30 feet into the Phillies dugout below.
Here, the critter is pictured midair, just moments before it landed directly on top of MLB star Chase Utley in the second inning.
Squirrel goes off the rails
On May 25, 2015, a squirrel jumped through the window of a Coney Island-bound Q train in New York City and attacked its operator. The motorwoman slammed on the brakes and several riders helped her chase the squirrel from the mass transit vehicle.
Squirrel goes nuts on the subway
On May 17, 2015, a wayward squirrel sent another veteran New York City subway operator to the hospital, when it attacked her on the stairs of the Woodlawn station in the Bronx and chomped down on her middle finger.
Squirrels going nuts
On July 8, 2015, the New York Stock Exchange "suspended trading in all symbols," for nearly four hours. Social media and news coverage exploded with questions: Was it fallout from the financial meltdown in China? Was it a hack? Was it some sort of other cyberterrorism? The answer, however, turned out to be a software glitch, coined a "black squirrel event."
"It's a big deal psychologically, because the NYSE is seen as the epicenter of the U.S. financial system," Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities, told CBS MoneyWatch.
President Obama was briefed on the situation, and it was actively monitored by both the White House and the Treasury Department until resolved. So, if squirrels in fact played any part in setting off the technical glitch, that's a lot of impact for such a small creature to have.
Squirrels going nuts
The incident at the New York Stock Exchange in July 2015 wouldn't be the first time squirrels wreaked havoc on America's financial systems.
A stray squirrel touched off a power failure in Trumbull, Connecticut -- the location of NASDAQ's main computer center -- and shut down the NASDAQ for 82 minutes, back on December 9, 1987. In doing so, the critter stopped an estimated 20 million shares from being traded.
Squirrels going nuts
This squirrel sprinted onto the infield during the fourth inning of a game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, April 19, 2014.
Squirrels going nuts
The brazen little squirrel then ran directly past Phillies' starting pitcher Kyle Kendrick, delaying the game during its third inning in Denver, Colorado, April 19, 2014.
Squirrels going nuts
This baby squirrel stole the show twice at the Presidents Cup in Dublin, Ohio, October 3, 2013.
First, the critter approached American Team Assistant Captain Davis Love III, who in a bout of superstition, kept the critter on his lap as a presumed good luck charm for most of the day’s four-ball matches.
Then, acclaimed U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn picked the critter up and placed it on her then-boyfriend Tiger Woods’ shoulder, unbeknownst to him... A squirrel prank for the ages.
Squirrels going nuts
This British squirrel ran onto the pitch during the Sky Bet Championship match in London, December 21, 2013. He had to be chased off the field by Leicester City player David Nugent, before play could resume.
Squirrels going nuts
On June 25, 2013, an Arizona woman called 911 to report a brawl between a ground squirrel and a snake in her backyard. By the time firefighters arrived, the two animals had been fighting for over half an hour, with no signs of stopping. What shocked them the most, though, was that the squirrel appeared to be winning.
“It looked like the squirrel had grabbed a piece of corn and was just chewing on it,” firefighter Ryan Philips told CBS Phoenix.
Tangled in the arm of a chair, the snake only managed to get in a couple of strikes, while the squirrel seized every opportunity to gnaw on the snake’s body.
Squirrels going nuts
This squirrel ran into the Cincinnati Reds' dugout, during the ninth inning of their game against the New York Mets at Citi Field, June 17, 2012.
Squirrels going nuts
On June 1, 2012, this squirrel attempted to take third base at the Rockies-Dodgers game in Denver, Colorado.
Squirrels going nuts
This squirrel invaded the pitch, during the Barclays Premier League match between Everton and the Queens Park Rangers on March 3, 2012.
Squirrels going nuts
This squirrel sprinted onto the court at the 2013 US Open.
Here, tennis player Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia attempts to remove the critter herself.
Squirrels going nuts
This pet squirrel owned by an anti-government protestor participated as a furry little activist at one of the blockade camps in Bangkok on March 1, 2014.
Squirrels going nuts
This is Sugar Bush Squirrel and she's the closest thing the squirrel world has to a professional model. Squirrel Bush has posed for over 5,000 photographs as celebrities, pop culture icons and in reenactments of news stories.
Here, donning military fatigues, the self-proclaimed "international superstar" illustrates just how badass squirrels can be.
Squirrels going nuts
These two squirrels wanted a snack so badly that they climbed up a man's leg in St James' Park in London to look for it, October 22, 2010.
Squirrels going nuts
Eddy Hall visited St. James' Park in central London almost every day for 14 years, but that didn't stop this squirrel from running down his face on October 21, 2004.
Squirrels going nuts
This squirrel raced in front of a ball during the afternoon foursome matches at the 35th Ryder Cup in Bloomfield Township, Michigan, September 17, 2004.
And though a "birdie" is a good thing in golf, a "squirrel" definitely is not.
