Zombie Raccoons! The headline screamed at me. So I did what any red blooded American would do…
I took the click bait! Who doesn’t like zombies? I work in nuisance wildlife, I like raccoons. Win-win for me! The article is about a group of raccoons in Ohio with unusual behavior.
http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2018/04/03/zombie-raccoons-disease-virus/
And their behavior is odd. Odd or threatening behavior from animals can be a sign that they are sick or injured. It’s a true clue to STAY AWAY! Zombie behavior is a pretty good clue! The article mentions another clue though. It mentions that raccoons are nocturnal and normally not seen during the day.
We’re coming into the one time of year that this isn’t always odd behavior. Spring time is a special time of year.
Just as the lovely ladies of our species will do anything to make sure that their babies are well cared for, so will lady raccoons, opossums, skunks, foxes, yetis, etc. Part of this is making sure her babies have enough to eat. She may be trying to feed a half dozen little mouths. A lot of food needs to be found every night. If she can’t find enough at night, she’ll be looking for food during the day.
We, at Upstate Wildlife Control, trap animals for a living. Odd behaving animals is something we have dealt with many times. This is the one time of year where we ask if there is additional odd behavior besides being seen during the day. Threatening, showing teeth… bad. Running across the yard in front of the woods with purpose… possibly rushing home to feed hungry mouths.