‘Zombie squirrels’ with wart-like tumors have been found in backyards throughout the United States.
Photos of the squirrels with oozing sores and hairless patches have been captured and shared on social media since mid-2023, with a recent surge this summer, the Daily Mail reports.
“At first I thought it was eating something from my front beds, but then I realized it was on its face,” one Reddit user posted on July 31 after spotting a gray squirrel with a tumor on its mouth, the website stated.
Experts claim the afflicted rodents are likely suffering from squirrel fibromatosis, a viral skin disease caused by leporipoxvirus, which spreads through direct contact between healthy squirrels and the saliva of infected ones in similar transmission to herpes in humans. The virus is commonly confused with squirrelpox, which is far more common in the United Kingdom and potentially fatal among red squirrels.
Leporipoxvirus results in wart-like tumors carrying an ooze fluid and typically clears up on its own, however, the growths may affect internal organs and potentially become fatal. The squirrels aren’t, however, a threat to humans, pets or birds despite their appearance, Shevenell Webb of Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife told the Bangor Daily News.
“It’s like when you get a large concentration of people. If someone is sick and it’s something that spreads easily, others are going to catch it,” Webb said.
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