A single squirrel has thrown one of India’s largest universities into chaos. For over six weeks, an aggressive squirrel has been attacking students, staff, and administrators at Mohanlal Sukhadia University in Udaipur, Rajasthan, biting at least 18 people, including the Arts College dean. No one has managed to catch it.
According to Free Press Journal, the attacks have been concentrated along the campus pathway leading to the Psychology Department, where the squirrel is believed to have built a nest. Witnesses say it strikes without warning, launching itself at people before vanishing back into the trees.
On April 22 alone, two students were bitten. A college clerk was attacked the very next morning. As reports kept piling up, the university called in the Animal Aid rescue team, but despite multiple visits and cages placed across campus, the squirrel slipped away each time.
The squirrel that refuses to be caught
Kamlesh Suthar, a member of the rescue team, said the situation is unlike anything the team has encountered before. “We have made a number of attempts to capture this particular squirrel, but it consistently manages to evade us. Small cages have also been set up at various locations across the campus,” he told Free Press Journal.
Associate Dean Naveen Navana confirmed that the rescue team has now been summoned twice. “Since complaints about squirrel bites began, we have summoned the rescue team on two occasions. Cages were placed at different locations, but the clever animal managed to evade every attempt and escape each time,” he said, adding that staff have been told to report any sightings immediately. Arts College Dean Prof. Madan Singh Rathore said the administration is actively working on a solution and that staff are joining the effort to catch the animal.
The attacks have gotten so bad that students and faculty now avoid the pathway near the Psychology Department entirely. Many are afraid to sit outside on campus at all. This is the kind of unexpected public health threat that can upend daily life fast when no one has answers.
Why is the squirrel attacking?
Experts believe territorial instincts are the most likely cause. University staff suspect the squirrel nested near the Psychology Department and sees anyone who walks by as a threat to its territory.
Dr. Shailendra Kumar Sharma, Deputy Director of the Animal Husbandry Department, told that squirrel bites do not carry a rabies risk, but anyone bitten still needs a tetanus shot as a precaution. He added that animals can turn aggressive if they are partially blind or disturbed by certain colors, and suggested the squirrel may feel unsafe for reasons that aren’t yet clear.
For now, the campus is on edge and the squirrel is still on the loose. The university has not announced any new plans beyond what is already in place, though staff are continuing their own capture efforts alongside the rescue team. Stories like this one are becoming a fixture of the viral news cycle, much like the shocking health scares that suddenly dominate social media and leave everyone asking how something so strange could happen so fast.
