Rabid-Like Raccoons In West Virginia Are Actually Drunk

Yesterday, some concerned residents from Milton, West Virginia called the police to report a case that seemed one of rabid raccoons.

Later, people have been informed that the raccoons’ strange behavior was not due to a disease, but they were just drunk.

It’s quite typical for raccoons to knock over trash bins, but the resident noticed that they were pretty disoriented and even falling out of trees.

The Milton Police Dept. addressed this incident in a recent post on Facebook and they explained that the raccoons’ strange behaviors due to consumption of fermented crab apples that have recently fallen on the ground.

With some help from the local street dept. the police were able to capture the poor animals. Two raccoons that were involved in separate incidents, and were held in custody before they were released back into the woods safe and sound.

Intoxicated birds, spotted as well

Raccoons are not the only animals that were spotted drunk. Back in October the police dept. in Gilbert, Minnesota, alerted the community of some disoriented birds that have been flying into cars and windows.

The situation was far from the one you might have seen in Alfred Hitchcock’s movie, Birds.

The birds were simply drunk after eating some fermented berries in the region.

The clumsy behavior of drunk raccoons is different from the other ventures of the animals from a few states.

Millions of social media users cheered on a determined raccoon just redbelly that was scaling a Minnesota skyscraper that reached 20 stories tall.

How to keep raccoons away 

In order to reduce the risks of attracting raccoons on your property, the best thing you can do is to secure the t5rash bins with locking lids. You can also clean up fallen fruit or overripe produce, and it’s also recommended that you never leave pet food out overnight.

Raccoons are associated with rabies, so the safest thing you can do is avoid them and seek medical attention if you get bitten by any chance.