Because I have lived in the country all of my life and make it a matter of safety to know the creatures that I may have to interact with.
http://rabies.emedtv.com/rabies/rabies-and-squirrels.html
Lots of qualifiers in that article. See my #64. Also, rabbies are BAD. Untreated rabbies are almost 100% fatal (only 6 people are know to have survived symptomatic rabbies without treatment in the US. Ever.). Treatment is better than it used to be, but still no fun and carries it’s own risks.
In view of al that, a little pepper spray is definitely acceptable. In addition, the squirrel will probably fear people now, which might increase its lifespan come hunting season.
I live in a forest and I’ve yet to be approached by a squirrel.
To quote from your source:
Rabies and Squirrels: An Overview
Squirrels are almost never found to be infected with the rabies virus. Squirrels also have not been known to cause rabies in humans within the United States. Bites from a squirrel are not considered a risk for rabies unless the animal was sick or behaving in an unusual manner, and rabies is widespread in the area.
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Being approached by a baby squirrel would be very unusual to me.
Speaking of unusual, we had a very large whitetail doe in our neighborhood that had been someone’s pet and abandoned near our home. Used to scare the hell out of me when she’d come up quietly and nudge my back, wanting to have her ears scratched. Wild animals don’t do that, but then she had been cared and loved by someone.
She is no longer around (probably in someone’s freezer) and I no longer have deer sneaking up on me wanting to be pet.