Oxford Hills Observer - Turner Publishing, Inc.

Page 6 Oxford Hills Observer April 2013
www.turnerpublishing.net
Critter Chatter: Getting Serious About Wildlife Diseases - Raccoons
Carleen Cote
Far from the prying eyes
of humans, the yearly ritual
has begun. Raging hormones
initiate the breeding
season. Males pursue
females until the female selects
the male of her choice.
Gestation periods vary with
each species. Babies will
soon be born. There will
be intended and unintended
encounters with humans.
Several species having
their young are labeled
as rabies vector species,
meaning that they can be
hosts for the rabies virus,
capable of passing the virus
to their babies and to
humans. These include the
fox, skunk, raccoon, bat
and woodchuck. All warm
blooded mammals can be
hosts for the virus, but the
ones mentioned above are
the major carriers.
We receive calls about
raccoon babies who have
Maine Marines Toys for Tots Campaign Award
Pictured left to right: Sergeant Brent Seawright; Jacki Kennagh,
Executive Director, and Major Conlon Carabine.
On February 5th, at the
Harraseeket Inn in Free-
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Training
Boarding
Grooming
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Baby raccoons photo by Amy Messier.
lost their mother; she has
been either trapped, hit by
a vehicle or killed by a human
or animal. The caller
may want to keep the babies.
I have been told that
I have the reputation of being
a fear-monger when responding
to someone asking
about keeping young
raccoons. Nevertheless,
my message is always that
raccoons may carry rabies
and should be brought to a
rehabber. Some people in-
port, Company A 1st Battalion
25th Marines pre-
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sist that they had kept baby
raccoons when they were
young and never had any
problems. That may very
well be, however, there has
been an issue of raccoon rabies
for many years now. In
a small number of instances,
the baby raccoons are
never brought to any rehabber.
Anyone who chooses
to keep a raccoon is playing
Russian roulette. Several
years ago, I heard this
game was played by young
sented DancingTrees and
DancingTrees’ Executive
Director with awards as
Top Supporters for the
2012 Mane Marines Toys
for Tots Campaign.
As expressed by Maine
Marines Toys for Tots
Coordinator, 1st Sergeant
Timothy Bunnell, “Your
efforts supporting Company
A 1st Battalion 25th
Marines 2012 Toys for
Tots Campaign are truly
appreciated. There were
many families who were
unable to get on the wish
list of organizations that
distribute toys collected
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119 Bonney Rd.
Sumner, ME 04292
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people and, tragically, they
were not all winners.
I once received a baby
raccoon that was only a few
days old and appeared well.
At eight weeks it presented
problems. I took it to the
vet to be tested. As each test
result proved negative, he
told me it pushed the possibility
of rabies further up
the list of probable causes.
Not long after I took the animal
home, it began having
seizures so I returned to the
by the Toys for Tots Campaign.
Your organization
was willing to accept
these families who needed
assistance from across the
State in addition to the
families your organization
was already helping.
Your organization helped
dozens of families who
may have otherwise not
been able to have toys for
their children on Christmas
day. Your giving
spirit embodies what Toys
for Tots is all about.”
DancingTrees is honored
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vet, who recommended the
raccoon be euthanized and
prepared for testing at the
State laboratory. It tested
for rabies. That same year,
another raccoon from a different
litter presented signs
of rabies at three months of
age. There is no quarantine
period for a wild animal
that has had contact with a
human or domestic animal
because the incubation period
is not known. For our
two, it was eight weeks and
three months.
People will call about a
raccoon hanging around
their property that appears
to be sick but is not frothing
at the mouth. We have
seen raccoons with rabies’
symptoms, but frothing
was never one of them. In
the late stages of rabies,
raccoons will self-mutilate
and vocalize in a way I cannot
describe; some have
seizures and soon die. We
advise anyone suspicious
of a strange-acting raccoon
to stay away from it and
keep any pets inside. Call
us and my husband, Don-
many Marines and volunteers
who dedicate count-
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John McDonald
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All seriousness aside...
ald, will go and set a trap to
catch it.
Raccoons also arrive at
the Center with ticks, but
though we have cared for
hundreds of raccoons over
the years, only one had
mange. Raccoon parvo virus
and canine parvo are
two other diseases that can
cause sickness and death in
raccoons. We have had several
years of dealing with
parvo virus. Last year was
the first year we had raccoons
with canine parvo.
These diseases are communicable
to other raccoons.
The suffering and death of
raccoons we have lovingly
cared for are devastating to
Donald and myself, as well
as our volunteers.
Note: Carleen and Donald
Cote operate the Duck
Pond Wildlife Care Center
on Rt. 3 in Vassalboro,
Maine, a non-profit facility,
supported entirely by the
Cotes’ own resources and
outside donations. Call the
Cotes at 445-4326 or write
them at 1787 N. Belfast Ave.,
Vassalboro, ME 04989. n
less hours to make this
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