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Gatwick train cancelled after squirrels board and 'refuse to leave' (news.sky.com)

submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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The squirrels jumped on the Great Western Railway (GWR) 8.54am train from Reading to Gatwick on Monday, forcing passengers to flee to other carriages.

The passengers alerted staff, who tried to lure the squirrels off the train at Redhill with snacks, before trying to force them off with brooms - but to no avail.

They subsequently called the journey off entirely.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

Also note, while you should always assume on the side of safety, it is an invariably fatal disease that is too late to vaccinate for or treat by the time you have symptoms, it is exceedingly rare for small rodents like squirrels to carry rabies as generally if they make contact with a rabid animal they don't survive the encounter to pass it on. Most of the few rodent/lagomorph rabies cases in the US are in beavers and groundhogs.

I REPEAT: They CAN get rabies and the only way to be safe is to get treatment immediately if you are in contact with any wild animal that could even remotely have rabies, also squirrels can carry other diseases that can kill you including plague and hantavirus, contact a doctor immediately if you get bitten by any unknown animal and only interact with wildlife with your eyes and ears from a respectful distance.