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Run: Rabid riverbank raccoon reported

Allison Mahler reports from Watertown:

There is rabid raccoon on the outbound Charles river path near the Perkins School for the Blind. A jogger was attacked luckily no skin was broken.

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Comments

How does she know it's rabid?

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jogger being attacked and being reported in the middle of the afternoon are the clues!

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Being attacked is definitely a clue. Being out in the middle of the afternoon is not. I'm no expert in raccoons but we had a few roaming around our roofdeck and sidewalks in Southie in broad daylight. When I called animal control they told me raccoons venture out in the day time often. They're opportunists, so if there's a better chance at finding a snack during the day - that's when they'll be out.

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you see racoons and foxes and (insert nocturnal critter here) in the afternoons sometimes, it happens - doesn't mean they are necessarily rabid.

Good idea to be cautious but don't assume seeing a nocturnal animal in the daytime means they are sick.

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The raccoons know the trash pickup schedule, and daylight won't keep them from their appointed rounds.

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The original facebook posting says "allegedly rabid."
Innocent until, etc.

It's also baby raccoon season. Maybe it was a mother defending against a perceived threat? No idea if they do that. Probably best to avoid any aggressive animals, whatever the cause.

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If you get exposed, it's rabid until proven otherwise, though, at least as far as getting the prophylactic rabies series.

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