We’ll admit it. Last Thursday afternoon, as we were listening to scanner reports of a rabid raccoon attacking the tires of a car in Round Pond, we thought it sounded kind of humorous.
It was so unusual, so out of place: a 20-pound raccoon attacking a 2000 pound car; it just sounded funny. On the face of it, that’s the kind of thing a good storyteller like Tim Sample or Gary Crocker would have a field day with.
The way Dan Scuorzo tells it on our front page this week, it is already a heck of a story; one that is about as serious as a heart attack.
As any country boy or girl knows, backing a full-grown coon into a corner is just asking for trouble, but in general raccoons would rather flee than fight. Leave them alone to scrounge for their food in the dark of night and they are perfectly happy to be left alone.
Which makes a raccoon spoiling for a fight in broad daylight a sign of something very, very wrong.
Old timers will tell you, out in the woods, something out of place is not something to be ignored. Seeing an animal where you shouldn’t tells you something. Not seeing one where you should also tells you something.
According to State Certified Animal Damage Control Agent, Mike Witte, with the relatively mild winter fast behind us, we may be in for a more harrowing than usual rabies season this year and we have no reason not to believe him.
Which makes this as good a time as any to remark that when you see an animal out of place, any animal, wild or domestic; one that doesn’t look right, isn’t acting right; maybe one that just doesn’t feel right, trust your instincts. Put as much distance between the critter and yourself as you can and call in the pros to do what they do.
It should go without saying that wild animals are wild and should always be avoided, but any animal out of place is always a cause for caution.
