SANTA MONICA, Calif. — It is an apparent rite of spring -- a new litter of ground squirrels burrows into a California park. But a significant increase in the rodents’ population over the past few years is driving officials nuts in Santa Monica.
City officials have been pleading with visitors to stop feeding the squirrels at Palisades Park, KCBS reported. While the animals are native to the area near the Pacific coast, they have been enjoying treats from visitors rather than looking for crumbs in the grass.
And that has created an uptick in the park’s squirrel population.
“The problem is, it’s always the food supply,” Marcia Rybak, the director of Coast and Canyon Wildlife Rehabilitation, told the television station. “Everything is shelter and food with wildlife, or all animals, really.”
City leaders urge people to stop feeding Santa Monica squirrels due to swelling population https://t.co/xsARyKi7hz
— CBS LA (@CBSLosAngeles) June 9, 2026
It is unclear how much the population has increased over the past few years.
City officials have posted red-and-white signs telling visitors that feeding local wildlife “creates an imbalance in native ecology” as they become more dependent on humans for food, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Rybak told KCBS that drastic measures to thin out the squirrel population typically do not work. She said that if park patrons simply stopped feeding the squirrels, the population would dwindle to more workable levels.
Parkgoers have noticed the squirrels taking control.
“They’re very dominant squirrels,” Nicole Smith, who was visiting the park on Monday, told the television station. “This is their park. They’ve taken over.”
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