Uptown Raccoons Get Vaccinnated

Did the coyote and bald eagle sightings keep you from thinking about all of those rabid raccoons roaming around Central Park? Well, they're still there—however, the city plans to vaccinate all Upper Manhattan raccoons against rabies so that we don't get some sort of I Am Legend/Cujo hybrid scenario on our hands.

They announced the vaccination program today and say they've documented over three dozen rabid raccoons in the area since December (during the time, one human and one dog have been bit). That is a lot! To get an idea of how this compares to other years and other boroughs, here's a chart they provided us with:

The trap-vaccinate-release process will be a collaborative effort involving the Health Department, the Parks Department, the Central Park Conservancy and the US Department of Agriculture—who are all hoping to contain the outbreak. They began humanely trapping the raccoons in Central Park, Riverside Park and Morningside Park today—with traps being set up in remote areas (though you may want to keep your eye on off-leash pets, and children for that matter.)

This may seem like common sense, but since one person tried to nurse a sick raccoon back to health and was bitten recently, it's worth mentioning: avoid rabid raccoons! If you see one, call 311, and if one attacks you or your pet, call 911 and/or the Animal Bite Unit. Simple as that. Learn more about rabies here.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Carlson in News on February 16, 2010 2:33 PM

Comments [rss]

Guest

Now we're going to have to deal with a crapload of autistic raccoons.

pantera

And the raccoons unfortunately have to deal with human buffoons.

youngpro

and an even bigger crapload of more nonsensical counterarguments from felix the a-hole containing fake numbers, facts no one has ever heard of, plagiarized stuff, etc.

FUCK I WISH THE TWITTER POP-UP WOULD GO AWAY ALREADY

Guest

"FUCK I WISH THE TWITTER POP-UP WOULD GO AWAY ALREADY"

in a few years, "farter" will replace "twitter", and it should be much more forcefully explosive. and volatile.

FelixtheCat & Christine Quinn'

Yeh. Trap and release is the best. No drowning them as in the past. Is NYC no longer a 3rd country? I hope so.

ides_of_march

As long as they are released in your apartment, I'm ok with that.

silver

Raccoons make great pets.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7hBv-tbSWk

pantera

Lovely creatures! So enchanting and magical.

Guest

+1.

Felix, are you talking about 3rd world countries, like the one you obviously came over from? Just wondering. A lot of those countries eat animals that Americans (you know, the group of people you despise) refuse to eat. Does that mean Americans are better in your eyes? Or are you going to come up with some quasi-logical explanation that goes off on a tangent not even hinted at here?

nicemarmot

See, when I was growing up, if I tried to touch the wild animals, my parents slapped me upside the head and said "Don't touch the wild animals, they'll bite you!" Apparently this is not a standard NYC lesson, judging by the sheer number of people I see trying to interact with the various forms of NYC rats (flying rats, tree rats, mini-rats, giant rats, actual rats). Here's a hint, people: wild animals are not your friends.

pantera

"There will always be some conflict and interaction, but generally people and animals can live together.”- Alan Rabinowitz

http://www.e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2242