Residents of Youngstown, Ohio, are on alert after a series of encounters with what people are describing as “zombie raccoons.” Police have received a high number of calls from people who are encountering these feral raccoons that are exhibiting strange behavior.
One resident named told WKBN-News, that after he saw a raccoon coming toward him, he put his dogs in the house as he closed the door. The man made attempts to scare the raccoon away but it did not move. He further stated, “He would stand up on his hind legs, which I’ve never seen a raccoon do before, and he would show his teeth and then he would fall over backward and go into almost a comatose condition.”
Police in the city stated that they have had to put down at least 14 raccoons in the last three weeks that have exhibited similar behavior. Health officials believe the animals are infected with the canine distemper virus. The virus can affect many animals, including dogs, coyotes, foxes, pandas, wolves, ferrets, skunks, raccoons and large cats. According to Ohio Department of Natural Resources spokesperson Geoff Westerfield, “Raccoons are really prone to getting diseases that even among themselves can be devastating to the population.”
The disease can be passed by coming in contact with infected animal droppings. Officials believe that the outbreak is localized and that the animals cannot be relocated and must be euthanized. Raccoons can be very dangerous animals when confronting humans.
Below is a video of a raccoon with canine distemper:
