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Saturday, October 8th 2005

12:57:50 AM

This Isn't Peanut Oil!

Posted By Officer Fox

A new addiction is sweeping through squirrel society, both here and over seas. It is an addiction usually thought to only affect Humans. It is an addiction that eventually kills. From Mirror.co.uk:

SQUIRRELS are going nuts for crack cocaine - digging up secret stashes hidden by drugs dealers.

[...]

Now animal lovers fear Britain's grey squirrel population could become addicted.

What is cocaine? From the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

Main Entry: co·caine
Pronunciation: kO-'kAn, 'kO-"
Function: noun
: a bitter crystalline alkaloid C17H21NO4 obtained from coca leaves that is used medically as a topical anesthetic and illicitly for its euphoric effects and that may result in a compulsive psychological need

While this article is from over seas, it does mention the problem we are having here in the United States of America:

In America, crack-crazed squirrels live in parks frequented by addicts in New York and Washington.

Visitors have been attacked by the rodents desperate for a fix.

This drug causes major changes in personality and health. How do you know if you've accidentally eaten this dangerous substance? Here is some information from Wikipedia:

The initial signs of stimulation are hyperactivity, restlessness, increased blood pressure, increased heart rate and euphoria. The euphoria is quickly followed by feelings of discomfort and depression and a craving to re-experience the drug. Side effects can include twitching and paranoia, which usually increase with frequent usage.

With excessive dosage the drug can produce hallucinations, paranoid delusions, tachycardia, itching, and delusional parasitosis .

Overdose causes tachyarrhythmias and a marked elevation of blood pressure. These can be life threatening, especially if the user has existing cardiac problems.

Toxicity results in seizures, followed by respiratory and circulatory depression of medullar origin. This may lead to death from respiratory failure, stroke, cerebral hemorrhage, or heart-failure. Cocaine is also highly pyrogenic, because the stimulation and increased muscular activity cause greater heat production. Heat loss is inhibited by the intense vasoconstriction. Cocaine-induced hyperthermia may cause muscle cell destruction and myoglobinuria resulting in renal failure. There is no specific antidote for cocaine overdose.

Cocaine abuse is associated with a lifetime risk of heart attack that is seven times that of non-users. During the hour after cocaine is used, heart attack risk rises 24-fold. It accounts for 25% of the heart attacks in the 18–45 year-old age group.

(Note: If you don't know one of the words in the above post, please use the Merriam-Webster Dictionary or Dictionary.com to look them up. It could save your life!)

If this substance is capable of killing Humans, imagine what it can do to small squirrel bodies.

How can you avoid such a substance? From Mirror.co.uk:

The RSPCA confirmed: "The animal is attracted by smell and if it detects something like this it will dig it up."

It's simple: if you smell something that you are not familiar with, leave it alone! Stick with what you know and avoid the rest. With this simple precaution, you will never find yourself addicted to such a horrible, toxic substance.

Thank you and stay safe.