Santa Monica’s insane idea to tackle rampant squirrel population

Squirrels have taken over a Santa Monica park, with the coastal city asking residents for help in curbing the burgeoning population of the four-legged critters.

The squirrel situation has exploded at Santa Monica’s Palisades Park in recent years, which is attributed to people feeding the animals junk food.

This abundant food supply has caused the squirrel populace to skyrocket, with city officials now urging residents to stop feeding the squirrels in an effort to curb their population.

“The problem is, it’s always the food supply,” Marcia Rybak, the director of Coast and Canyon Wildlife Rehabilitation told CBS News.

“Everything is shelter and food with wildlife, or all animals, really,” she continued, adding that more drastic measures to remove the squirrels would not be as effective as getting people to stop feeding them.

Video taken from the park on Monday showed dozens of squirrels meandering about, some snacking on food items such as cheese crackers and even a packet of ranch dressing.

“They’re very dominant squirrels,” said Nicole Smith, who was at the park on Monday. “This is their park. They’ve taken over.”

Another visitor, Joe Affleck, added, “I do understand both sides, and you don’t want to go down the path of getting rid of what’s naturally there.”

Another unidentified visitor told CBS on camera that the squirrels were, “super cute,” adding, “we were wondering why they’re, yeah, everywhere.”

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The squirrels are native to the area, with their natural habitat burrowed into the cliffs surrounding the park, with the city posting signs last year to try and get residents to stop feeding them.

The signs say that feeding birds and squirrels, “creates an imbalance in native ecology,” adding that it, “increases their dependence on people for food.”

When asked if the squirrel population explosion has caused any erosion into the cliffside, Rybak said, “Well, I don’t know if we’ve actually seen erosion caused by ground squirrels, but it could happen.”

Rybak did say that city leaders considered an idea 20 years ago to give squirrels birth control, though that never came to fruition, adding that a sudden decrease in food could lead to more aggressive behaviors.

Smith was also asked if she thought the squirrels should be removed from the park, but she responded saying, “I think they’re fine. Leave the squirrels alone. Save the wildlife.”