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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.

Neighborhoods: 
Watertown
Free tagging: 
Wildlife
Raccoons


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Comments

By anon on Thu, 05/31/2018 - 5:50pm.

How does she know it's rabid?

By John F Pelletier on Thu, 05/31/2018 - 9:22pm.

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

By Girl in Southie on Fri, 06/01/2018 - 9:34am.

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.

By polarbare on Fri, 06/01/2018 - 9:39am.

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.

By anon on Fri, 06/01/2018 - 12:32pm.

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

By Cranky on Fri, 06/01/2018 - 10:00am.

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.

By Tim Mc. on Fri, 06/01/2018 - 2:47pm.

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