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Run: Rabid riverbank raccoon reported
By adamg on Thu, 05/31/2018 - 5:45pm
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?
How does she know it's rabid?
jogger being attacked and
jogger being attacked and being reported in the middle of the afternoon are the clues!
Being attacked is definitely
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.
As someone who grew up in rural NC
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.
The Lure of the Garbage Clock
The raccoons know the trash pickup schedule, and daylight won't keep them from their appointed rounds.
To be fair
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.
If you get exposed, it's
If you get exposed, it's rabid until proven otherwise, though, at least as far as getting the prophylactic rabies series.