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The Guardian
6 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
‘There's got to be tens of thousands': ground squirrels overrun North Dakota city
The Richardson's ground squirrel weighs less than a pound, is about a foot long and is native to the northern Plains. The little creature also is a ferocious tunneler, and it's exasperating the people of Minot, North Dakota, where it's burrowing everywhere from vacant lots to the middle of town, and growing more plentiful over the past two decades. Now North Dakota's fourth-largest city is fighting back, but even the pest control guy leading the charge acknowledges that it will be difficult to turn the tide against the rodent. Joshua Herman said fighting the squirrels is akin to 'one guy standing against a massive storm'. 'If I'm trapping but my neighbor isn't, well then, we're really not going to get anywhere with it, long-term,' Herman said. Ground squirrels have been an issue in Minot, a city of nearly 50,000 people, for at least 20 years, but the problem has dramatically worsened in the last few years, said Minot Street Department Superintendent Kevin Braaten. It's unclear how many of the squirrels live in Minot but it likely nears or even exceeds the city's population. 'Gosh, there's got to be tens of thousands of them in the area,' Herman said. Officials in the city, a green spot along the winding Souris River surrounded by farmland and grassy prairie, know they can't get rid of the squirrels, but hope to simply get the rodent numbers down. 'I don't see the population ever going to zero,' Braaten said. 'I mean, it's almost impossible by the numbers that we have.' Put another way, Minot won't be able to rid itself of the squirrels because the animals have lived on the prairie for centuries. Outside of town, predators like coyotes, badgers, owls and even snakes love to dine on the squirrels. But in residential neighborhoods and even downtown, where few of their predators live, the rodents can roam pretty freely. Greg Gullickson, an outreach biologist with the North Dakota game and fish department, adds that the squirrels now have fewer grassland areas available to them and like the mowed spots they find in town. Female squirrels typically give birth to litters of about six babies a year, so it's easy to see how their numbers can quickly soar. Herman said he kills 3,500 to 5,000 of them a year, primarily by putting snares and carbon monoxide into the holes, and using an air rifle. 'I've had calls downtown, calls in the mall, along the highways, here at the airport – really every part of the city I've done trapping for ground squirrels here in Minot,' Herman said as he checked his traps along an apartment building and shoveled dirt over holes. Herman says they damage driveways, sidewalks and lawns; create tripping hazards with their holes and can harbor disease from fleas. Along an apartment building, the squirrels had dug under a concrete slab and against the foundation. Nearby in a vacant lot, the rodents popped in and out of holes. Ground squirrels near Pashone Grandson's ground-level apartment dig holes near her door and eat her plants. One squirrel even got around her baby gate at the door and into her daughter's clothes in her bedroom. 'It was a little scary. You don't know what disease they carry. They're dirty. I have a young daughter ... I didn't know if it was going to bite her,' Grandson said. North of town, Minot Air Force Base, which houses bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles, has fought the ground squirrels for years. Earlier this month, the base said it had trapped more than 800 'dak-rats,' a base name for the rodents. Base officials declined to comment on the squirrels. Jared Edwards, facilities director for Minot Public Schools, which has three schools on the base, said residential areas of the base and runways are overrun by ground squirrels. He called it 'a continuous battle for them for the last 75 years since the base has been there.' 'I'm not going to exaggerate: they're by the millions out there,' Edwards said. In town, three school properties have large populations of ground squirrels, he said. Last year, the school system began using snares, and for years before that had used poison. 'It's something you have to keep up with. It is Mother Nature,' Edwards said, adding that they've probably been in the area since homesteaders came through. Still, not everyone sees the squirrels as a pest. Some find the critters cute and fuzzy. Herman said people have sabotaged, stolen or thrown out his traps. They occasionally confront him when he shoots at ground squirrels with an air rifle, scolding him for hurting the wildlife, he said. 'They get that cute association, and they are, you know, adorable, but they're a vermin and a pest and dangerous when they are allowed to proliferate,' Herman said.
Al Arabiya
6 days ago
- General
- Al Arabiya
Ground squirrels are taking over a North Dakota city and officials are not amused
The Richardson's ground squirrel weighs less than a pound, is about a foot long, and is native to the northern Plains. The little creature also is a ferocious tunneler, and it's exasperating the people of Minot, North Dakota, where it's burrowing everywhere from vacant lots to the middle of town and growing more plentiful over the past two decades. Now North Dakota's fourth-largest city is fighting back, but even the pest control guy leading the charge acknowledges that it will be difficult to turn the tide against the rodent. An uphill battle, Joshua Herman said fighting the squirrels is akin to one guy standing against a massive storm. 'If I'm trapping but my neighbor isn't, well, then we're really not going to get anywhere with it long-term,' Herman said. Ground squirrels have been an issue in Minot, a city of nearly 50,000 people, for at least 20 years, but the problem has dramatically worsened in the last few years, said Minot Street Department Superintendent Kevin Braaten. It's unclear how many of the squirrels live in Minot, but it likely nears or even exceeds the city's population. 'Gosh, there's got to be tens of thousands of them in the area,' Herman said. Officials in the city, a green spot along the winding Souris River surrounded by farmland and grassy prairie, know they can't get rid of the squirrels but hope to simply get the rodent numbers down. 'I don't see the population ever going to zero,' Braaten said. 'I mean, it's almost impossible by the numbers that we have.' Put another way, Minot won't be able to rid itself of the squirrels because the animals have lived on the prairie for centuries. Outside of town, predators like coyotes, badgers, owls, and even snakes love to dine on the squirrels. But in residential neighborhoods and even downtown, where few of their predators live, the rodents can roam pretty freely. Greg Gullickson, an outreach biologist with the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, adds that the squirrels now have fewer grassland areas available to them and like the mowed spots they find in town. No land is safe. Female squirrels typically give birth to litters of about six babies a year, so it's easy to see how their numbers can quickly soar. Herman said he kills 3,500 to 5,000 of them a year, primarily by putting snares and carbon monoxide into the holes and using an air rifle. 'I've had calls downtown, calls in the mall, along the highways, here at the airport – really every part of the city I've done trapping for ground squirrels here in Minot,' Herman said as he checked his traps along an apartment building and shoveled dirt over holes. Herman says they damage driveways, sidewalks, and lawns, create tripping hazards with their holes, and can harbor disease from fleas. Along an apartment building, the squirrels had dug under a concrete slab and against the foundation. Nearby in a vacant lot, the rodents popped in and out of holes. Ground squirrels near Pashone Grandson's ground-level apartment dig holes near her door and eat her plants. One squirrel even got around her baby gate at the door and into her daughter's clothes in her bedroom. 'It was a little scary. You don't know what disease they carry. They're dirty. I have a young daughter… I didn't know if it was going to bite her,' Grandson said. North of town, Minot Air Force Base, which houses bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles, has fought the ground squirrels for years. Earlier this month, the base said it had trapped more than 800 dak-rats, a base name for the rodents. Base officials declined to comment on the squirrels. Jared Edwards, facilities director for Minot Public Schools, which has three schools on the base, said residential areas of the base and runways are overrun by ground squirrels. He called it a continuous battle for them for the last 75 years since the base has been there. 'I'm not going to exaggerate: They're by the millions out there,' Edwards said. In town, three school properties have large populations of ground squirrels, he said. Last year, the school system began using snares and, for years before that, had used poison. 'It's something you have to keep up with. It is Mother Nature,' Edwards said, adding that they've probably been in the area since homesteaders came through. Still, not everyone sees the squirrels as a pest. Some find the critters cute and fuzzy. Herman said people have sabotaged, stolen, or thrown out his traps. They occasionally confront him when he shoots at ground squirrels with an air rifle, scolding him for hurting the wildlife, he said. 'They get that cute association, and they are, you know, adorable, but they're a vermin and a pest and dangerous when they are allowed to proliferate,' Herman said.
BBC News
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Escaped capybara forces temporary closure of zoo
Drusillas Jersey Zoo closed earlier after a capybara escaped from its enclosure. Staff noticed the large rodent called Tango was missing while doing their morning checks at about 08:00 BST. The zoo reopened at about 11:30 BST after the mammal team "quickly located" Tango in the Tamarin woods in the zoo grounds, said a spokesperson. Triplet Tango, who is just under two years old, moved to the zoo recently from Druisillas Park in East Sussex where he was a feature of World Book Day and demanded cuddles from author Dame Jacqueline Wilson. The zoo, founded by naturalist and writer Gerald Durrell, thanked visitors and members for their patience. Follow BBC Jersey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to Zoos and Zoology
Daily Mail
09-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Customer's disgusting surprise in salad leaves her scarred for life
A woman in New York City was horrified after she bought takeout only to find a rodent mixed in with her salad leaves. Hannah Rasbach, 27, ordered a salad from a restaurant in Midtown Manhattan but was disgusted by the unwanted addition. 'When I tried to cut it, it didn't feel right, it felt like a fatty piece of meat or something...' she told ABC 7 grimacing. 'I took a better look and I saw the tail and eyes.' Rasbach was halfway through her meal when she found the rodent and immediately took the container of food back to the restaurant. Footage showed her inside Ongi on West 37th Street on Monday afternoon talking with an employee before handing over the food. '[The employee] asked if I thought it had come from the spring I'm not sure where it came from,' Rasbach continued. She rushed to the doctor and was put on antibiotics as a precaution, concerned that the rodent may have urinated or defecated on the food. 'We had no idea how this animal died, it could have been rat poison, it could have been disease, any number of things,' she said. Rasbach told the outlet she can't imagine eating out again ever again. The owner, Ray Park, handed over the footage to the outlet insisting that the rodent didn't come from his restaurant. 'I was thinking, how can it be happening here, because we have a high standard to run every single day here,' Park told ABC 7. He added that he had no idea where the rodent came from, and didn't want to guess, as he revealed the establishment had combed over the footage countless times. 'If I use my finger, it's this big including the tail. It's not small,' Park continued. He said that the kitchen is clean and there had never been evidence of droppings. He kept Rasbach's meal as evidence, he told the outlet. Rasbach filed a complaint with 311 and the Health Department said it's investigating. 'I would like them to be shut down or investigated,' she said.
