Squirrel Set Free

In a battle between tree-huggers and animal-lovers, an anonymous squirrel that was held hostage in a live trap near Paine Hall was released yesterday from its cage.

Dr. Gary D. Alpert, a scientist at the Department of Environmental Health and Safety for Harvard University, said the squirrel was trapped to prevent it from eating the bark of a tree.

"The squirrels were killing the tree, so [building managers] attempted to trap the squirrel that was killing it," he said.

An unnamed caller from the Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library yesterday alerted the department of the trap's existence, Alpert said. The cage was then immediately removed and replaced with an alternative barrier.

"We want to achieve this goal [of protecting the trees] by banding the trees with barriers and not using live traps," said Alpert.

Jim C. Yang, a student at New York University who was feeding squirrels in Harvard Yard this afternoon, defended the rights of the squirrel and supported the removal of the traps.

"They don't harm anybody," he said.

But Meredith F. Alexander '96, a self-proclaimed squirrel-hater, said the controversy was "nutty."

The squirrel was not available for comment yesterday afternoon.