Yep, it's true. A pack of hungry squirrels in Lazo, a village in the Maritime Territory, (see map below) became irritated when a stray dog started barking at them--and they decided that running away was for wimps. Instead they went "Tasmanian Devil" on the dog and tore it to pieces.
They ate as much as they could before approaching humans scared them away. Observers stated that some of the squirrels ran off with chunks of dog meat to dine on later.
So, anyone who thinking about vacationing in Lazo might want to wear a fine suit of kevlar. Or chain mail.
Link to the story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4489792.stm
And here's the story in a spoiler.
So...are these feisty squirrels a Cold War hold over from some Top Secret Soviet laboratory? If so then I'd hate to see what the U.S.S.R. managed to do with rabbits! O_O
They ate as much as they could before approaching humans scared them away. Observers stated that some of the squirrels ran off with chunks of dog meat to dine on later.
So, anyone who thinking about vacationing in Lazo might want to wear a fine suit of kevlar. Or chain mail.
Link to the story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4489792.stm
And here's the story in a spoiler.
Squirrels have bitten to death a stray dog which was barking at them in a Russian park, local media report.
Passers-by were too late to stop the attack by the black squirrels in a village in the far east, which reportedly lasted about a minute.
They are said to have scampered off at the sight of humans, some carrying pieces of flesh.
A pine cone shortage may have led the squirrels to seek other food sources, although scientists are sceptical.
The attack was reported in parkland in the centre of Lazo, a village in the Maritime Territory, and was witnessed by three local people.
A "big" stray dog was nosing about the trees and barking at squirrels hiding in branches overhead when a number of them suddenly descended and attacked, reports say.
"They literally gutted the dog," local journalist Anastasia Trubitsina told Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper.
"When they saw the men, they scattered in different directions, taking pieces of their kill away with them."
Mikhail Tiyunov, a scientist in the region, said it was the first he had ever heard of such an attack.
While squirrels without sources of protein might attack birds' nests, he said, the idea of them chewing a dog to death was "absurd".
"If it really happened, things must be pretty bad in our forests," he added.
Komosmolskaya Pravda notes that in a previous incident this autumn chipmunks terrorised cats in a part of the territory.
A Lazo man who called himself only Mikhalich said there had been "no pine cones at all" in the local forests this year.
"The little beasts are agitated because they have nothing to eat," he added.
Passers-by were too late to stop the attack by the black squirrels in a village in the far east, which reportedly lasted about a minute.
They are said to have scampered off at the sight of humans, some carrying pieces of flesh.
A pine cone shortage may have led the squirrels to seek other food sources, although scientists are sceptical.
The attack was reported in parkland in the centre of Lazo, a village in the Maritime Territory, and was witnessed by three local people.
A "big" stray dog was nosing about the trees and barking at squirrels hiding in branches overhead when a number of them suddenly descended and attacked, reports say.
"They literally gutted the dog," local journalist Anastasia Trubitsina told Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper.
"When they saw the men, they scattered in different directions, taking pieces of their kill away with them."
Mikhail Tiyunov, a scientist in the region, said it was the first he had ever heard of such an attack.
While squirrels without sources of protein might attack birds' nests, he said, the idea of them chewing a dog to death was "absurd".
"If it really happened, things must be pretty bad in our forests," he added.
Komosmolskaya Pravda notes that in a previous incident this autumn chipmunks terrorised cats in a part of the territory.
A Lazo man who called himself only Mikhalich said there had been "no pine cones at all" in the local forests this year.
"The little beasts are agitated because they have nothing to eat," he added.
So...are these feisty squirrels a Cold War hold over from some Top Secret Soviet laboratory? If so then I'd hate to see what the U.S.S.R. managed to do with rabbits! O_O
