Leo Gillick
Who else had zombie squirrels on their US bingo card? Just me?
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A number of affected zombie squirrels have been spotted in North America, with several reports in Maine. Pictures of the nasty-looking rodents have popped up on social media, sparking fear and disgust.
The squirrel’s skin and fur are covered with oozing, pus-filled warts. They cover their faces, genitals, hands, and legs. It gives them a zombie-like appearance and can cover a large percentage of the squirrel’s bodies.
Initially, people suspected that the wart-like growths were the result of a pox. But, experts have weighed in, and it appears that it is most likely a strain of squirrel fibromatosis. This virus, spread between the animals, causes warts or tumors on the body that result in liquid-filled, hairless growths.
The virus is passed from squirrel to squirrel through contact. It is transmitted through the saliva and lesions of the zombie squirrels. Close contact between the animals helps to spread it. People with bird feeders are, in part, responsible for the spread due to the animals’ frequency of visits.
“Like a lot of people, I love watching birds,” Shevenell Webb, a wildlife expert, told Bangor Daily News. “Unfortunately, you can attract multiple [squirrels] to that feeder and risk exposure if one has the virus.”
Are We Next?
Thankfully, leporipoxvirus isn’t transmissible from squirrels to humans, or any other animals, it seems. So, your pets, kids, and livestock are safe from the horrendous-looking disease. However, experts are warning people against capturing the sick zombie squirrels. Just leave them to deal with it themselves.
The virus responsible for the warts and tumors isn’t unusual in the grey squirrel. It will, over time, run its course and should heal itself. In some cases, however, it will spread to the internal organs of a squirrel, resulting in death.
Either way, resist putting your hands on the sick rodents. They’re gross.
Summer often brings about a rise in the virus that results in the zombie squirrels. As the weather rises, and more of them come out to eat, their contact with one another also rises. But, over time, a lot of them will heal.
