quote:

Originally posted by HayesGreener:
Stumbling around, confused, lack of coordination, most likely distemper. Rabid would exhibit aggression, perhaps foaming at the mouth. I recently had to dispatch a young one showing the same symptoms.

In the "Dumb" form of rabies, the animal with rabies may be ataxic, confused, staring, circling, drooling, etc. Latter stages may lead to the more commonly known aggressive stages that the movies love to portray. Unfortunately the symptoms of rabies and distemper may overlap enough to be confused by many lay persons, which can lead to unfortunate results.

quote:

Originally posted by slabsides45:

quote:

Originally posted by HayesGreener:
Stumbling around, confused, lack of coordination, most likely distemper. Rabid would exhibit aggression, perhaps foaming at the mouth. I recently had to dispatch a young one showing the same symptoms.

In the "Dumb" form of rabies, the animal with rabies may be ataxic, confused, staring, circling, drooling, etc. Latter stages may lead to the more commonly known aggressive stages that the movies love to portray. Unfortunately the symptoms of rabies and distemper may overlap enough to be confused by many lay persons, which can lead to unfortunate results.

Distemper being contagious and terminal, as well as rabies, I put them down when I see it as a kindness.

quote:

Originally posted by slabsides45:

quote:

Originally posted by P226RN:
From my local wildlife rehabilitators Blue Ridge Wildlife...

When we receive these calls, we will ask people to observe their behavior further - are they appropriately afraid of humans or domestic animals when approached? Are they able to run and climb or are they disoriented, slow, or "drunk" in appearance?

I know this isn't how the rehab folks intended the message, but some Ole Miss folks might be dumb enough to actually intentionally approach a staggering or otherwise abnormal acting critter. My addition to this would be to NOT intentionally approach wildlife acting out of character, because if it's Distemper maybe you're okay, but with Rabies they might just run faster after you than you can run away from them.

Ha! Yes, I agree!

We were down at the hunting lease in central IL a few days ago. It’s the ONE good thing IL is known for.

While moving a few stands we see about 25 vultures hanging by the creek, ground & trees. We go to investigate, hopped the creek.

There’s a nice 8 point buck that died in the last day or so, indications were classic ‘blue tongue’. I would much rather it was shot by a youth hunter than go this way, would of got a pass from us.

This ‘blue tongue’ was know to be prevalent in IL a few years ago, for whatever reason, bucks more susceptible. How many die that nobody is aware of?

A daytime coon not running after being rousted, 17 HMR time.

From CCI ammunition:


https://tinyurl.com/u9k6ffx8

"They’re everywhere—from the biggest cities to the most remote corners of the country, and their numbers grow every day. But raccoons are nest-robbing bandits that hit upland, waterfowl and turkey nests hard. Here’s everything you need to know about raccoons, their habits and how to target them—whether it’s to put more gamebirds in the field or meat on the table.

Bandit Background
The raccoon is easily recognized, partly because of its distinctive gait, black mask and ringed tail, but also because the species is found in almost every habitat across the country. Procyon lotor, as the species is known to science, is at home in forests and marshes, mountains and semi-deserts. It’s also at home in urban settings, pilfering trash and robbing bird feeders to make ends meet. At one time the raccoon was found strictly in North America, but during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the species was introduced to Russia, Japan, Germany, and other parts of Europe and Asia.

There are dozens of raccoon subspecies across the United States, but apart from populations in the Florida Keys that are smaller and lighter in color, most raccoons look remarkably similar. The largest weigh over 50 pounds, but the average is less than that with boars (males) weighing less than 20 pounds."

quote:

Originally posted by HayesGreener:

quote:

Originally posted by slabsides45:

quote:

Originally posted by HayesGreener:
Stumbling around, confused, lack of coordination, most likely distemper. Rabid would exhibit aggression, perhaps foaming at the mouth. I recently had to dispatch a young one showing the same symptoms.

In the "Dumb" form of rabies, the animal with rabies may be ataxic, confused, staring, circling, drooling, etc. Latter stages may lead to the more commonly known aggressive stages that the movies love to portray. Unfortunately the symptoms of rabies and distemper may overlap enough to be confused by many lay persons, which can lead to unfortunate results.

Distemper being contagious and terminal, as well as rabies, I put them down when I see it as a kindness.

Just curious- after you dispatch them, do you send them (the body or head) to the state lab to verify whether or not you have a certain disease in the area?
I know with the dog bites we had to send samples for verification, but that was with a human being bitten. And years ago..

FYI they are highly attracted to rice crispy treats, homemade is better than store bought.
The coons here know to flip a have a hart trap in its side, rendering the trigger useless. I prop a chair on top of the trap and put the trap against the house. This pins it down but they can still find and see the bait, takes them a minute to get the gumption to go in, but they do.