"Hey, Mommy, Look at the Cute Squirrel!"

Mountain View has a squirrel problem.

Specifically, squirrels at Cuesta Park, Mountain View's largest park, have been attacking people. The city's plans to quietly deal with the situation fell apart after a recent incident where a squirrel bit a four year-old child (there's nothing that will get city staff swinging into action faster than a front-page picture of a sad-eyed four year-old showing where he got his rabies shot).

So here's the solution. From our local free weekly, the Mountain View Voice (emphasis mine):

As a result, plans to curb the rodents' population at Cuesta were put into action last week, as squirrel-crushing traps were placed in the trees around the children's play area.

Doesn't that just scream South Park?

I can imagine it now:

Little Kid: "Hey, Mommy, look at the cute squirrel!!!"
[Squirrel wanders into trap and is crushed into a bloody pulp]
Little Kid: "Nooooooo!!!!!!!!"
[Little kid is taken away, crying, and will later spend most of his 30s in therapy]

Predictably (this is Northern California, after all), this has caused outrage. Some want the squirrel captured and euthenized humanely. But PETA is also threatening lawsuits. The parent of the four year-old is also contemplating suing the city for neglegence. In the meantime, the city has dispatched a park ranger to patrol the children's play area, banging on his metal clipboard, so as to keep the squirrels at bay.

I will keep you updated at the situation develops.