I've seen squirrels attack people previously - it's not uncommon actually.
Ray Stevens, the comedian singer, even immortalized the phenomenon (The fight for survival that broke out in the bible, in that sleepy little town of Pascagalula (sp?) )
OTOH... no squirrel is ever the same as another...
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Many universities report similar, unique, phenomena.
This all seems quite odd until you realize a very simple psuedo-fact: squirrels are rats, only evolved. Thus, more intelligent (read cunning) and more devious. When fed, they learn where the food comes from, but not why... and will go to great lengths to find that food from the food source -- be it crawling into the chips bag, the students backpack, or searching a human who produced 'food'. This search can become *very* aggressive if the squirrel is alarmed, as it is typically when the reaction of the human sets in -- wild squirrel climbing your leg, you will react usually ;0
They are not as smart as a crow or raven, in my opinion, but they will pursue food *very* diligently and as aggressively as needed.
On a humorous note, even comic books have noted the phenomenon of the power of the squirrel... the single most powerful figure in all of marvel comics (and the most understated) is Squirrel Girl Doreen Greene
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