The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Killer squirrel pack guts dog

Russian tree rat horror

Increase your knowledge of the latest threats to your busines

A pack of Russian black squirrels is reported to have piled into a dog mob-handed, bitten it to death and then eviscerated the unfortunate animal after it ill-advisedly barked at them, the BBC reports.

That, at least, is according to journo Anastasia Trubitsina who told Komsomolskaya Pravda: "They literally gutted the dog," before adding that the canicidal tree rats scattered when they caught sight of some people. Chillingly, according to the three witnesses to the outrage, some were "carrying bits of flesh".

Locals in the town of Lazo attribute the savagery to a lack of pine cones. One said: "The little beasts are agitated because they have nothing to eat."

Scientists are unconvinced. Mikhail Tiyunov dismissed the claim as "absurd", with: "If it really happened, things must be pretty bad in our forests." ®

See what The Register's experts have to say on application security

Don’t Miss

Win a Samsung C6625!

Reg Lucky Draw Windows Mobile handsets up for grabs

Palm_Pre_001_SMIs your cameraphone an oxymoron?

Pic Review iPhone 3G v iPhone 3GS v Palm Pre

Reg black vulture logoReg Mobile and Wireless newsletter is go! go! go!

Site news Email-tasm

Sign up, sign up for The Register IT security newsletter

Narrowcasting for the email classes