'Why You Gonna Bite Me Like That?' Man Films Prospect Park Squirrel Biting His Finger

<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kevpbur/16728861970/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">KevPBur / Flickr</a>

A man and a little girl who were both bitten by a squirrel in Prospect Park, on separate occasions, have now provided some more details about the incidents. According to the Department of Health, they are two of the handful of people who have reported being bitten by a squirrel in the Park between July 18th and July 20th.

Maria Guerrero, the 7-year-old girl, recalled, "It kind of looked like a flying squirrel — he jumped on my arm and then he started to bite my arm — but I had no food! I had no food, I had nothing!"

Guerrero's family went into further, and much more dramatic detail, saying the animal sprung out suddenly and "when Guerrero's dad heard her screams, he was able to pry the animal's jaws open, and throw the squirrel onto the sidewalk. Amazingly, the squirrel came back and tried to attack again, twice, before climbing into a nearby tree," reports WABC 7.

Meanwhile, 31-year-old Leku Percival says he was in the park feeding a squirrel peanuts on July 11 when he was bit.

According to the Daily News, "Percival, a marketing consultant who frequently goes to Prospect Park, said the squirrel bit him hard enough to draw blood, but he hasn’t noticed any complications since. He did not immediately seek medical care but now plans to after hearing the city’s warning. He had not spoken to officials and did not believe he was counted among the five known victims."

Pervical captured his incident on video:

On Friday, city health officials revealed that five people reported squirrel bites in Prospect Park near the Parkside and Ocean Avenue entrance between July 18 and July 20, leading them to believe there was a rabid squirrel on the loose, "based on the unusual aggressive behavior." The city health officials is urging anyone who has been bitten by a squirrel since July 10 to "seek rabies post-exposure prophylaxis at an emergency room and to bring any pets that have been bitten by a squirrel to a veterinarian." If the squirrel in question is rabid, it's worth noting this would be the first rabid squirrel found in New York State since rabies monitoring began in 1992.

Flyers about the aggressive squirrels were posted in the park, and while some were alarmed, one man barbecuing told the Daily News that he wasn't afraid of a rabid squirrel, "I’m a big man. I can kill it and eat it. Why not? We eat them back home."

Eating rabid animals aside, the city believes the squirrel is dead by now.