I went outside just after noon this afternoon. You could smell a strong smell of skunk. I looked over at our fenceline and the perpetrator was on the other side, about 15 yards from me (Waaaay too close for comfort). I watched him for a little bit with binoculars from the other side of my truck windows. He ambled along the fence for about 10 yards, then sat down. After a couple of minutes, he went another 10 yards and then stopped. He walked back along the fence and over to a burrow about 10 yards into the neighbor’s property.The main problem is that (1) it was walking and acting erratically and (2) it was out during the middle of the day. Both of these are possible signs of a rabid animal.I called both our township and Bucks County Health and Human Services. Neither could offer any real help other than to hire a professional exterminator. I was a bit surprised and disappointed considering the seriousness of rabies. I believe only one person has ever survived exposure to rabies without having received the vaccination or shots.
The gentleman at the County was helpful otherwise. He mentioned that the main carriers were skunks, racoons, bats, foxes and feral cats. I was aware of the first three but wasn’t aware of the latter two. We do have a fox that comes through occasionally but it seems to be pretty healthy. Oh well, just one more thing to be aware of.
Bucksview Blog – Bucks County Pa: Suspicious Skunk Spotted – Beware of rabies
I went outside just after noon this afternoon. You could smell a strong smell of skunk. I looked over at our fenceline and the perpetrator was on the other side, about 15 yards from me (Waaaay too close for comfort). I watched him for a little bit with binoculars from the other side of my truck windows. He ambled along the fence for about 10 yards, then sat down. After a couple of minutes, he went another 10 yards and then stopped. He walked back along the fence and over to a burrow about 10 yards into the neighbor’s property.The main problem is that (1) it was walking and acting erratically and (2) it was out during the middle of the day. Both of these are possible signs of a rabid animal.I called both our township and Bucks County Health and Human Services. Neither could offer any real help other than to hire a professional exterminator. I was a bit surprised and disappointed considering the seriousness of rabies. I believe only one person has ever survived exposure to rabies without having received the vaccination or shots.
The gentleman at the County was helpful otherwise. He mentioned that the main carriers were skunks, racoons, bats, foxes and feral cats. I was aware of the first three but wasn’t aware of the latter two. We do have a fox that comes through occasionally but it seems to be pretty healthy. Oh well, just one more thing to be aware of.