What to do when attacked by a rabid animal

A gray fox lies on a warm road after dark in Big Bend National Park.

Rabid fox hangs on

Recently, a woman jogger in Arizona was attacked by a rabid fox.  At first, the fox didn't appear aggressive, but as she backed away it attacked, clamping its jaws to her arm.  With the fox hanging on, she ran a mile to her car, where she succeeded in removing the fox from her arm and trapping it in the trunk of her car.  Later, the fox bit an animal control officer when he removed it from the trunk.  Source.  More detail.

I credit the woman for her coolness, and for trapping the fox (which later proved to be rabid).  I blame the animal control officer, who should have been more cautious.

The above fox story isn't all that unusual.  Rabies cases are increasing in Arizona.  Here are some similar stories:
"Man Attacked by Rabid Bobcat Strangles Animal to Death With Bare Hands"
"An Encounter With a Rabid Skunk"   This one's a real nightmare--a guy, sleeping outdoors, wakes up with a skunk biting his nose.  See the hilarious photo of his nose.

Which animals carry rabies?

Any mammal can carry the rabies virus.  In the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern US, there has been an epidemic of rabies in raccoons since the 1970s.  More recently, rabies has been common among skunks in the Midwest. 

The "reservoir" for rabies is thought to be wild bat populations, so bats are always suspect.  (This doesn't mean you kill all bats.  If one blunders into your house, open the windows; or just put on gloves, and put it outside, then wash your hands.)

The greatest risk comes from infected bats, monkeys, raccoons, foxes, skunks, cattle, wolves, coyotes, dogs, cats, or mongoose.  You can also catch rabies from infected domestic farm animals, groundhogs, weasels, bears and other wild carnivores. But rodents, such as mice and squirrels, are seldom infected.

In many parts of the world, dogs are the most common carriers.  But in the US, due to laws that require dogs to be vaccinated, dogs are seldom infected.

A person (or other animal) usually becomes infected from the bite of a rabid animal.  The virus is carried in the saliva.  But people have become infected without being bitten, so it's important to wash carefully if you have contact with a rabid animal.

How rabies is spread

After a long incubation period, rabies attacks the brain, causing the rabid animal to become excitable and aggressive--hence the tendency to attack and bite.  As the disease progresses, the animal may become partially paralyzed, uncoordinated, and may drool.

The virus actually takes over the animal's brain, directing the animal to attack and to spread the virus.  Better than science fiction.  Presumably, the virus is spread among wild populations when the excitable victims bite or lick one another.

Recognizing a rabid animal

Wild animals are nearly always extremely cautious around humans.  So when you see an animal that seems fearless, or even boldly aggressive, that's a good sign the animal has rabies.

If the animal is merely fearless, but not aggressive, back away cautiously--don't excite the animal.  But if it's approaching fast, get away as fast as you can.

For example, my friend Liz drove into a park, to go for a walk.  As soon as she got out of the car, she was approached by a raccoon.  It walked up to her fast and purposefully.  She tried to scare it away by clapping her hands, but the raccoon paid no attention.  She responded by climbing on top of her car, since there was no time to unlock.   The raccoon tried to climb after her, but the metal was too slippery.  When another car drove into the lot, the raccoon approached the driver as he got out, and he, too, climbed on top of his car.  Then he crawled back into the car through the open window (someone else inside opened it for him).  While the raccoon was occupied with the second car, Liz climbed down, drove away, and reported the raccoon.

There are three things besides rabies that could explain this raccoon's overly bold behavior:

• It may have been hungry--and trained by previous handouts to see humans as a source of food. 
• Or, it may have been a hand-raised pet, released back to the wild, and now very hungry.  However, in either case, the raccoon would still show caution.  It would seem to be testing an invisible barrier of fear.  If you made a sudden motion, it would probably scamper back, then cautiously approach again.  It would look very alert and hesitant.
• Finally, it might be defending its burrow or its young.  Never mess with a mother with young.

Since raccoons are active at night, and this happened during daylight, the raccoon's behavior was especially abnormal.

Do your best to decide if the animal is rabid--or whether one of these other situations applies.  Use your head!  I don't advise being afraid of all animals that approach, because the great majority are just looking for handouts.  So there's no point in locking yourself in the car for an hour, if the animal is showing the usual, cautious behavior--and it's an area where wild animals may have been fed in the past.

Recently, a new behavior has been observed in rabid foxes.  Normally, they are extremely wary of humans.  But some rabid foxes lose their fear, come into settled areas, and approach people.  Beware of tame foxes!

However, note that wild skunks are normally somewhat tame.  That's because, with their chemical weapon, they have little to fear from predators--so they have a placid nature.

The bottom line: Don't feed wildlife, and avoid animals that appear tame.  If they are aggressive, get away as fast as possible.   But running in panic isn't advisable--like Liz, use your head (or your car).

What to do if you are bitten

If you had contact with the animal but weren't bitten (skin broken), it's still necessary to wash skin thoroughly and flush exposed mucous membranes such as eyes, nose or mouth with water.  Check with your doctor.

If the skin is broken, wash the wound as above for 5 minutes, and apply an antiseptic to the wound.(povidone-iodine, iodine tincture, aqueous iodine solution or ethanol alcohol ).

If bitten, you must see your doctor for a series of injections within 10 days of the bite.  The injections are expensive, but today no more painful than shots for the flu.  They are nearly 100% effective--but if you omit the shots and the animal was rabid, your chances of a terrible death are nearly 100%.

In the US, only 1-2 people die from rabies each year, but worldwide, about 55,000 die each year.  India is the country with the highest death toll, followed by Vietnam, then Thailand.

If a bat is found in a room with an infant, vaccination for rabies is usually indicated.  Babies have died from rabies, even though no bite could be found.

If you are bitten, don't panic.  The shots are going to be effective---you're going to be all right.  But think--how can you prevent others from being at risk from this animal?  At the minimum, report it immediately to the authorities.  If possible, trap or kill the animal.  That way, it's no longer a threat, and it can be tested for rabies.

What about dog bite?

In the US, dogs are unlikely to have rabies.  But in other parts of the world, take a dog bite very seriously!

Again, use your head.  If the dog is defending it's territory, that's probably the reason for the bite.  But if you are away from a house, and attacked suddenly by a strange dog, that's suspicious.  Look for other signs of abnormal behavior, such as un-coordination or drooling.

There are good reasons, other than rabies, to report dogs that bite.  In some areas, the owners are required by law to tie up the dog and keep it under observation, to rule out rabies.

If bitten, use common sense.  For example, if there's a good explanation for the attack, and you know the dog, and it's vaccinated against rabies, and yor can later observe it (within 10 days) to make sure it isn't sick, then shots may not be necessary.

Can I get rabies from a bird?

No, wild birds do not carry rabies.  But experimentally, birds have been given rabies.  They do not get as sick as mammals do.  Source.

Wikipedia article.   CDC info on rabies.

Weird photos of animals

You might enjoy these photos of animals.  Creepy, weird, surprising, and funny.

And here's the famous  photo of crasher squirrel, along with its many clones.

Here's the centipug.

Here's a slide show of a few of my own.  I've posted a preview below.

Squirrel drinking beer at the Student Union, Madison, WI.

The story behind the photo

I'm a wedding photographer--I was photographing a wedding at the Student Union in Madison, WI.  On the terrace nearby, hundreds of students sit about, drinking beer, while freeloading squirrels, sparrows, and starlings hop about. 

The light was just right--so I asked the bride to put her cup of beer down, while I took her photo.  There was no table nearby, so she placed her cup on the ground.  When we finished the photo, I went to get her beer, and there he was--the squirrel swilling her beer.  With his head in the cup, he didn't see me as I took the photo from only a few feet away.

Crow control in Tokyo

Tokyo as been waging war on its crows for eight years.  The crows sometimes dive at people, and they "cause technological havoc. They nest in utility poles and cause blackouts; they even steal fiber-optic cables to build nests, sometimes disabling parts of the broadband network."

But despite fighting the crows for eight years, and spending millions of dollars, crow populations in Tokyo climbed 21% from last year to 21,200 this year.

"The crow budget for 2009 is about $700,000," says Tokyo's crow czar. "The year before, it worked out to around $50 for every crow killed. But we have to spend this money because people are complaining."  He says the city's garbage attracts crows from surrounding areas.

Some of the money has been spend on making garbage less accessible to the crows, and on improving garbage disposal.  The city also has created huge traps, which catch mostly young, inexperienced crows.  The crows are removed from the traps and gassed.

The NPR story concludes with the comment: "finding the right balance between man and nature isn't easy."

Attitude adjustment needed

Ever since Hitchcock's film, The Birds, there's been a certain amount of hysteria about our feathered friends,  when they get a little aggressive.

Obviously, by Tokyo Official's own admission, garbage is the cause of the problem.  If they are unable or unwilling to control that cause, crows and rodent pests will continue to be a problem.  If crows are damaging electrical equipment, then equipment should be redesigned to be "crow proof."

Part of the answer lies in educating the public, so they learn to live with crows, and even enjoy them.  These are highly intelligent animals.  Recently, one species of crow was found to be making and using tools. They are like a nation of immigrants, living silently among us.  Except we object  when they are not so silent or invisible. "Finding the right balance" might involve an attitude adjustment.

Learning about crows, and interacting with them, can be a pleasure.  I have tried calling to crows, imitating their voices.  It always gets a reaction.  Even looking at crows tends to upset them, since in my town they depend on going unnoticed.

I'm not sure why crows sometimes harass people in Tokyo.  I know they will defend their nests, by swooping at people who approach their nest.  Destroying nests would be more effective than trapping crows.

They may also just be trying to get food.  They may have learned that by swooping at people who are snacking, the snacks will be dropped.  In this case, it should be possible to "teach these crows a lesson."  Some bear control people in western states of the USA are taking this "behavioral modification" approach--shooting painful pellets at bears, and otherwise teaching them that freeloading doesn't pay. 

Crows are also known to "hold a grudge" against individual people.  Researchers went about trapping crows, while the trapper wore a Dick Cheney mask.  Later, when other researcers donned the mask, crows began to harass them, indicating that crows are capable of recognizing the face of an individual person.  

This behavior is called "mobbing," seen often in the wild, when crows chase and harass hawks or owls.  Crows are mobbed in turn by birds like redwing black birds, or eastern kingbirds.  Mobbing is a behavior that has long puzzled scientists who study animal behavior, because it seems to be "altruistic"  It exposes the mobbing birds to danger, while not benefiting them directly. 

So many of the pest control efforts I read about are ineffective.  The solution usually is just controlling access to garbage or food.   And nothing beats understanding the behavior of the animal in question.

St Bernard rescued after tail freezes to pond

"St Bernards have become famous for leading daring Alpine rescues but one 16-month-old dog needed rescuers of its own after its tail was frozen to the ice on a golf course pond."   Source

Powerful new tool for concerned citizens

On this blog, you'll see news about problems with animals.  A lot of these, like rodents trashing your car, are private--your problem to solve.  Others, like when the woman jumped into the polar bear pool at the zoo, deserve a call to 911.

But quite a few problem are public--for example, people feeding animals, or food available to animals because garbage is improperly stored.  Problems like these can be solved with the help of a new Web site....

Fix this problem: turtle crossing needed

"See Click Fix"

SeeClickFix.com is "a local advocacy Web site that lets users write about issues to encourage communication between residents and local government. SeeClickFix users post a complaint about problems that occur within a set of boundaries on a Google Map, like graffiti at a bus stop or potholes on a busy street, and the site communicates the problem to the appropriate government agency and marks the problem on the map.

Users can comment on the issue or label it resolved. Government agencies can post on the site to respond to residents, and journalists can use the site to communicate with readers and see which issues are most pressing to people.

Ben Berkowitz, the chief executive of SeeClickFix, said the tool went beyond government: 'Anyone can be held accountable: a business, nonprofit, even a private citizen.'" Read more.

Fixing problems involving animals

While the above example mentions problems like potholes in streets, we can use the site for animal problems like:

• Improperly stored garbage--cans with lids off, tipped over dumpsters, etc.
• Trash that's attracting rodents, or other areas frequented by rodents.
• People creating a nuisance by feeding wildlife.  For example, some towns have large populations of skunks because a few people put out unlimited catfood for feral cats.  You can make anonymous posts.
• Areas on highways were wildlife cross.
• Cruelty to animals.
• Report a deer carcass by the highway.

So go to SeeClickFix.com, and start solving problems in your neighborhood!

How to use "SeeClickFix"

You do not need an account on SeeClickFix--but you can easily start one if you already have a Facebook account. The site does have Pro accounts for businesses that require a fee, but citizens do not have to pay a membership fee.

1. Citizens start here.
2. In the box under "citizens get started," type in your city, neighborhood, or zip. Experiment with the map or lists of neighborhoods till you find the area you want to work within. I'd recommend your city, since the site is new.
3. Check out to see what problems your neighbors have reported. But probably there won't be any, since SeeClickFix is new.
4. Next, report your first problem. Click on the tab "report an issue."
5. Indicate where your issue is. You can type in an address, or you can use the map to drag the symbol over the right location. Use the arrows to move the map till it covers your area. When done, click "go to step 2."
6. State the problem. First enter something short and clear in the "summary" blank. This will be the name of your problem, so make it short, clear, and descriptive. If more details are needed, you can add them in the space below.
7. Next, it's highly recommended to add a photo.
8. Add your e-mail address in the blank. It will not be shared with the public.
9. When you are done entering, click on "report your issue."
10. Next, wait for a bit while your photo and report are uploaded. Next, you will see some suggestions above for what to do next. For example, you can email your report to your facebook friends, or you can even print a ready-made flier to slip under your neighbor's door.

Next, make some attempts to solve the issue yourself, and post what you are doing on the comments below the posting of your problem. You need to set an example that this system works, and that problems get fixed.

Think of SeeClickFix as a public bulletin board where problems are aired and people work together to solve them.

It's a great new tool for citizens--but if no one picks up the tool, no work gets done.

Turtles at the races

Looney laws about animals

I found a long list of laws about animals here.  I picked at random a few of the "looney laws" to look into--I've quoted them below.

• "Key West, Florida, has an ordinance prohibiting turtle racing within the city limits.
• It is illegal to walk your pet alligator down Main Street in Charleston, South Carolina. In Miami, it is against the law to "molest" an alligator. "
• In Kentucky, "any person who displays, handles, or uses any kind of reptile in connection with any religious service or gathering shall be fined not less than fifty dollars nor more than one hundred dollars."

Are these laws really so looney?  Let's see....

 
The facts about box turtle racing
 
Box turtles are a threatened species in parts of the US.  According to Alex Heeb of Chafee, Missouri,...  

"Turtle racing is an event held at county fairs, community festivals, and other events across the United States. For the event, wild caught box turtles... are placed in a circle, with the first turtle to exit the circle being the winner.

An ongoing study was initiated in 2005 to determine how many box turtles are removed from the wild for turtle races, what effect this may be having on populations, and what husbandry techniques are used to care for the turtles. Events holding turtle races were found through phone surveys and internet searches. When available, data on the number of turtles entered in races were recorded. I also attended turtle races and heard accounts from other people who had attended them.

Results showed that turtles were mostly kept in unsanitary conditions that were detrimental to their needs. Turtles are usually not returned to their home ranges and are sometimes released en mass."  Because turtles have a very strong homing instinct, when they are released away from their home area, they may cross many roads in a futile attempt to return home.

"Surveys found over 520 annual turtle races in 35 states. Based on entry data from over 50 races I estimate that over 26,000 box turtles are taken from the wild annually for these events."  "Due to the large number of turtles removed from the wild, these events could adversely affect box turtle populations."  Link.

Don't feed the gators

Gator want a snickers bar?  Nice gator!

"Feeding wildlife is a popular pastime. In fact, according to the Wall Street Journal, in 2001 Americans spent 2.6 billion dollars on birdseed alone." "Feeding alligators is illegal in Mississippi, as well as most states where alligators reside. The main reason: being bitten by an alligator may literally cost you an arm and a leg or maybe even your life." "Since 1948, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC) has documented 341 attacks on humans, of which 15 were fatal. In at least one fatality, the attacking alligator had been hand-fed by humans prior to the attack."

"Many times one neighbor can cause the demise of an alligator that was otherwise co-existing very well. On numerous occasions conservation officers respond to an alligator complaint call to find that everyone in the area was aware of the alligator and actually enjoyed its presence until one individual began to feed it. People report the alligator approached humans and pets as they go near the water's edge, whereas it used to avoid people. As a result, the alligator must be removed and destroyed. "The MDWFP conservation officers, wildlife biologists, and agent trappers relocate 100-200 alligators annually, but an alligator can never be relocated once it has been conditioned to hand-feeding due to obvious concerns of simply relocating a problem."  Source.

Shake a snake for God

"For the past 80 years, believers in the Appalachian hills of the southeastern US have incorporated handling serpents and drinking strychnine (a "salvation cocktail") into their faith and worship practice. Congregations exist mainly in poor coal mining communities, and although serpent handling has been outlawed in all but two southern states, several thousand practicing snake handlers remain to this day. When bitten, believers refuse medical treatment, in accordance with their faith. There have been fewer than 100 confirmed deaths in the history of snake handling." 

Both John and Melinda Brown died from snakebite.  They were survived by their five children, but the children then became the center of a curious and tragic custody battle between the two sets of grandparents.  Source.

"In the decade between 1940 and 1950 six Southern states... banned the practice of snake handling. In each instance, state lawmakers based their legislation on the premise that the First Amendment right to the free practice of religion was superseded by the potential danger to non-participants."  Like the five children....  Source.

Here's.a link defending snake handling.

The more I look, the more it seems that... it's looney people, not looney laws.