As if Californians didn't have enough problems, what with incompetent government, a governor who has outspends Wayne Newton on hair gel, and the nation's most expensive gasoline, now we learn that they are having to deal with something that's truly nuts.

In Santa Monica, a local park, beloved of the residents, is suffering an invasion. This isn't an invasion of illegal immigrants, the homeless, or anything so mundane. This park, the Palisades Park on Ocean Avenue, is being overrun by squirrels.

Several people have recently said Palisades Park on Ocean Ave. in Santa Monica is overrun by aggressive squirrels. Some people reported the squirrels chasing them, while another person told FOX 11 that she had to jump over them while running to avoid tripping.

The city has posted signs around the park warning people not to feed the animals. But in search of food, the squirrels have reportedly been chasing people in hopes of getting their tiny hands on something to munch.

The increase in population is also attributed to mating season and the birth of new babies.

So, the increase in population is attributed to squirrels mating and having new babies? Wow, who didn't see that coming? But then, that's rodents in a nutshell; if there is anything they are good at, it's breeding.

Of course, part of the squarrel people are having with the rodents is due to ill-advised folks feeding them. Feeding wild animals isn't a good idea; the free food makes them slow, lazy, and unwilling to forage for themselves, and no, California politicians aren't drawing the obvious conclusion. You don't have to be Squirrel-lock Holmes to figure that out, but politicians often aren't the types to go out on a limb.

Don't feed the squirrels. That's the message from Santa Monica officials. They may be cute, but the burrow-dwelling rodents are overrunning a local park. https://t.co/KzAoJoCoMI

— FOX 11 Los Angeles (@FOXLA) May 13, 2025

As a-gnaw-ing as these rodents can be, it's hard to come up with control measures without knowing what specific squirrels are involved. Tree squirrels and ground squirrels require different approaches, and these could be western gray squirrels or any of several kinds of ground squirrels. Unfortunately, they are too clever to be easily distracted by cheap entertainment; they won't be lured by, say, a television showing Nutflix. Maybe they could be hired to do grounds maintenance, which may save the city of Santa Monica some money, as the squirrels will work for peanuts.

Of course, if people would stop feeding them, that would help. My grandfather used to feed squirrels and the result was a horde of bushytails around his farmhouse; one of them even learned to talk, and was fond of reminding us "You are what you eat," but he was nuts.

See Also: And Now, for Something Completely Different - Woolly Mice

New Details Emerge About the Killing of Peanut the Squirrel, and They're Even Worse Than You Thought

The heat of the California summer to come, of course, may make a difference, as the summer sun can heat the ground to the point where squirrels find it harder to move around - leading them to wear cashoes. 

I'll be here all week. Try the veal.

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