There’s a woodland creature you don’t want to mess with in the Marin County community of Lucas Valley, and what is believed to be the same squirrel has attacked two different women in a two-day span, sending both to the hospital.

We’ve seen some wild wildlife stories out of Marin County, but this one is nuts. KTVU reports that there were two separate squirrel-on-human attacks in Marin County’s Lucas Valley the weekend before last, on both Saturday, September 13 and Sunday, September 14. In both separate cases, women were attacked and bitten by the squirrel while while walking through their neighborhood.

While both squirrel attack victims were sent to the hospital and examined, neither was required to stay in the hospital. And though squirrels do not carry rabies, they can carry other infections. And they do have teeth and sharp claws.

Moreover, the animal shelter Marin Humane believes it is the same squirrel behind both attacks.  

"They happened in almost the same place," Marin Humane director of marketing and communications Lisa Bloch told KTVU. "The squirrel has a particular coloring. He's kind of a caramel color or a golden color and that's a little bit more unique.”

Why is a Marin County squirrel suddenly attacking people? Officials believe people have been feeding the squirrel, leading to more aggressive behavior on the squirrel’s part.

"The squirrel will go up to a human assuming they're going to get fed and then, because the human might react, understandably, in a defensive way or angry way, the squirrel can get frustrated,” Bloch said to KTVU. “That can lead to the squirrel lashing out."

Feeding wild animals also makes them lose their fear of human beings, which can lead to disastrous results for the animal. "There’s the saying that fed wildlife is dead wildlife," Bloch added.

This is obviously a very curious case, and Marin Humane is working with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to determine their next steps. Though Bloch said it is “unlikely the squirrel would be returned to the wild or kept as an ambassador animal," because it has shown such aggressive behavior. So yes, this squirrel is certainly a candidate to be euthanized, should the attacking behaviors continue.

Experts say that if you encounter an especially aggressive squirrel, you should simply shout at it or stomp your feet to scare it away.

Related: Scientists Discover East Bay Squirrels Preying on Other Mammals for the First Time [SFist]

Image: The Caucasian squirrel or Persian squirrel, is a tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus found in temperate broadleaf and mixed forests in south-western Asia. (Getty Images)