Raccoons and Rabies

It is vital to understand the real facts about rabies and know what reasonable safety measures you can take to prevent exposure to the rabies virus, such as keeping rabies vaccinations current for your pets, and getting prompt post-exposure shots if bitten by a possibly rabid animal.

Rabies is usually passed to humans via the bite of a rabid animal. Occasionally it can be transmitted if the saliva of an infected animal gets into a fresh scratch, break in the skin, or contact with mucous membranes (eyes, mouth, and nose). Rabies is NOT transmitted through the blood, urine, or feces of an infected animal, nor is it spread airborne through the open environment. In addition, the virus does not live long when exposed to the open air and is no longer viable once saliva dries. Fortunately, the cases of humans getting rabies are quite infrequent in the United States.

The best way to protect against rabies is by taking sensible precautions and using good common sense. Do not touch or approach a wild raccoon, and always wear gloves if you must handle any wild animal, even if it is dead. Use a shovel or a piece of cardboard to move dead animals. Be cautious with all wild animals, as they can carry parasites and other disease.

Enjoy wild animals from a distance. Do not handle, feed, or attract them. Never adopt or bring a wild animal into your home. Teach children not to touch unknown animals, wild or domestic, even if they appear friendly.

If You Have Suspect an Injured or Sick Raccoon

If you see a raccoon out in the daytime, there is likely no reason to sound the alarm! Raccoons are nocturnal, but it is perfectly normal for a mother raccoon to venture out during the day to find extra food for her young. Raccoons will sometimes wake up from sleep to grab a quick snack before returning to bed. A raccoon may have also been mistakenly disturbed from its resting site and searching for a new location. A mother raccoon who gets locked out of a den site in a home or garage will claw and bite at the blocked entrance for hours, or even nights, to get to her babies. Or, it could be that the raccoon is injured or ill.

Determine the state and consider the location of the raccoon. If it appears to be healthy and alert (despite acting a little sleepy), is moving well (no obvious signs of injury), and is not overly friendly or aggressive, then leave the animal so that it moves away on its own.

If the raccoon is obviously injured, dragging its back legs, unstable on its feet, thin, or drooling at the mouth, don’t approach it, but there is no need to panic. Contact animal control or your local wildlife rehabilitator for further advice.

If You Have Found a Young Raccoon

For the first year of life, raccoons stick together in tight family groups. The mother and siblings will not leave a family member who is stuck up a tree, caught in a trap, or otherwise incapable of going with them. The raccoons may even attempt to free their family member.

If a raccoon cub is found in or near a home where the mother has been locked out, it can usually be reunited with its mother over the next couple of nights. Place the baby in a box outside the area in which it was found. Place a towel that the raccoon cub has been sleeping on just outside the box for the mother to smell. It is important that someone watches from a safe distance to ensure the baby remains warm and safe while attempting the reunion.

When baby raccoons are truly orphaned, they don’t know the difference between day and night. The only thing they know is that they are hungry and want their mother. This is when the cubs may wander from the den searching for her, if she’s gone too long.

If you find young raccoons without an adult, watch for several hours to see if the mother returns. A mother raccoon will not abandon her cubs unless she is killed or the den site is disturbed. If the cub is not retrieved at night, something has likely happened to the mother.

Do not touch the raccoon with your bare hands. This is vital to your safety and to the safety of the raccoon! Using gloves, a towel, or even a shovel gently put the cub or cubs in a cardboard box with air holes and place soft bedding inside.

Do not attempt to feed it, as wildlife requires specialized foods. Keep the raccoon in a dark, quiet location away from pets and children until the animal can be transported to a local wildlife rehabilitator or to Carolina Wildlife Care.

Trapping and Relocating Is Not the Answer

Often people will try to resolve a wildlife issue by trapping the animal with a Havahart® trap and relocating it. But in reality, removing one particular animal that is causing a problem simply makes room for another animal to continue the behavior. The most effective way to solve the problem is to identify what is attracting the animal and then remove the attractant.

Wildlife is attracted to areas because of the availability of food or they find an attractive nest or den site. If you remove what is attracting them, and close off any places that may offer a nesting spot, your wildlife problem will often disappear.

Ten Ways to Minimize Raccoon and Other Wildlife Conflicts

1. Feed pets inside, or remove food bowls after feeding.
2. Remove bird feeders at night, or hang feeders away from the house.
3. Secure lids on all trash cans at night (bungee cords work great).
4. Lock pet doors at night to avoid unwanted houseguests.
5. Cut back any overhanging branches that provide access to your roof.
6. Cap any non-masonry chimney.
7. Inspect and repair any potential openings to your attic, under the house or deck.
8. Cover compost piles.
9. Close garage doors and windows at night.
10. Keep the wild in wildlife and do not intentionally feed wild animals!

Relocating wildlife from one area to another is not as humane as you might think. Many of our native wildlife live in family groups and have young with them for most of the year. Separating a mother from her young can be devastating, even fatal, for the juveniles left behind.

Relocated animals also face an uncertain future when they are put into another animal’s territory. Wildlife is not very welcoming of a new intruder in their home territory, and many will fight to the death to defend it. A relocated animal is placed at a great disadvantage as they are unfamiliar with the area and available food sources and den areas.

Please, do not trap and relocate wildlife! If you need further advice on coexisting with wildlife, call the Carolina Wildlife Care hotline at 803-772-3994 or your local wildlife rehabilitator.

Raccoons Make Lousy Pets

It is hard not to fall in love with the sweet and curious face of a young raccoon. But keeping one to turn it into a pet not only poses a risk to your family and pets, but is harmful for the raccoon. A raccoon that has been socialized, or lost its fear of humans, can never be released into the wild.

Raccoons are extremely bright, intuitive, determined and most of all, wild. Once they outgrow their outgoing baby stage, they become less sociable and desire to live their lives on their own.

If they are forced to be pets, they often become irritable and destructive. Even the “pet” raccoon that has been raised from a very young age cannot be trusted not to bite its care giver or anyone else. Biting and scratching are perfectly natural behaviors for a wild animal, but they are far less desirable in a pet.

And while rabies presents a real threat to anyone coming in contact with the raccoon, raccoons can also carry a parasite called Baylis ascaris procyonis, or raccoon roundworm. The parasite is passed to humans ONLY through ingestion of raccoon feces that contain the eggs (it’s not passed through the air). It can cause eye and central nervous system problems in humans and other animals.

Young children or people with weak immune systems are at the greatest risk for exposure. Raccoons typically use latrine areas outdoors, so good hand washing for children after playing outdoors is the best defense against acquiring the parasite.

Wildlife rehabilitators and others working with raccoons use added precautions to avoid the parasite, such as wearing masks and gloves when cleaning raccoon cages, and by deworming the animals after their arrival.

Please, do not attempt to turn a raccoon or any other wild animal into a pet. It may very well cost the animal its life, if not your own.

Raccoon Facts

	Raccoons are nocturnal, meaning they sleep for most of the day and are active during the night.
	Raccoons love water, and they a re well known for "washing" whatever they pick up. They have incredibly sensitive hands, but they become even more sensitive when wet. When raccoons put food in water, it isn’t to wash it; it’s to get a better feel of it with their wet hands.
	Raccoons are among the most omnivorous of wildlife, meaning they are able to eat a variety of foods, including both plants and animals. They will eat things such as berries and vegetables, eggs, insects, fish, and even frogs. But, they are also good little rodent-fighters, eating rats and mice whenever they can! A thin raccoon is normally a reason for concern.
	Raccoons are opportunistic feeders. It’s important to keep pet food, garbage, and other sources of food secure from the reach of their nimble little fingers, as they rarely forget where they had their last meal.
	It is true that raccoons rightfully earn their nickname “little masked bandit”. Raccoons like to work under the cover of darkness, sometimes stealing suet and hummingbird feeders. Taking the item away prevents other raccoons in the area from have access to it. So, the next time you’re missing your feeder look up in the trees for it!