Raccoon tests positive for rabies in north Raleigh
Raleigh city leaders are urging residents to be careful about approaching animals after a raccoon tested positive for rabies.
The Raleigh Police Department's Animal Control officers were called to a north Raleigh neighborhood on Harbor Drive, near Lead Mine Road and Shelley Lake Park, on Saturday when someone reported a raccoon acting strangely.
Officers secured the animal and later tested it for rabies. Raleigh Animal Control found two raccoons with rabies around the same time last year.
Rabies can be deadly to humans if you don't get vaccinated after a bite.
Raccoons are a species known to carry rabies, but it's a myth that a raccoon has rabies if you see it in the daytime, according to Falyn Owens, a biologist with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. Still, if you see a raccoon or other wild animal, give it space.
You may see more raccoons in the daytime during the spring and summer because they're raising young.
If you see a raccoon that appears to be stumbling, having seizures or experiencing a neurological issue, give that animal a wide berth. If a person or pet has been scratched or bitten, it's time to call your local health department or animal control.
