Virginia Squirrel Bites Off More Than It Can Chew

Feb 1, 2007 12:45 PM EST

A college student in Lynchburg is undergoing rabies shots after being bitten by a squirrel with a taste for snack bars.

Audrey Hudgins, a sophomore at Randolph-Macon Woman's College from Durham, North Carolina, says she was sitting on a bench on campus Tuesday when a squirrel crawled up her leg and sat in her lap.

To Hudgins' surprise, the squirrel -- known as an infamous chowhound named Toby -- snatched a piece of the strawberry Nutri-Grain bar she was holding. But Toby went back for a second bite and locked on, biting through Hudgins' right thumbnail. She tried to unlatch Toby by beating it against the bench. The squirrel let go, then grabbed the Nutri-Grain bar that Hudgins had dropped during the struggle, and ran off.

She's taking a series of rabies shots as a precaution. School officials sent an e-mail to students on Tuesday about the snack bar showdown. The e-mail's subject line? "Please don't feed the squirrels."

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)