Raccoons Falling Ill in Big Numbers

Web posted Friday, July 16, 2004

By ANNETTE KENNEDY, Staff
A YOUNG RACCOON LIES CONVULSING in the back yard of a home in the 100 block of Cordova Street as Officer Rick Valentine, at right in background, looks on. A record number of raccoons have turned up sick recently; wildlife specialists believe the animals are suffering from distemper.

Raccoons falling ill in big numbers
By DIANE RODGERS
Assignment Editor
A record number of raccoons have turned up sick recently in St. Johns County; however, specialists believe the animals are suffering from distemper, not rabies.

The illness does not pose a threat to people, according to George Sigman of the environmental unit of the Health Department.

‘‘It’s not a public health concern that I know of,’’ he said.

And it shouldn’t pose a threat to pets that have been inoculated, said Karen Inman, vice president of St. Johns Wildlife Care Inc.

‘‘As long as your animals are inoculated, they should be OK,’’ Inman said.

Veterinarian Goodwin Seymour of Jackson Veterinary Hospital agreed.

Most pets are routinely vaccinated for distemper while they are young.

‘‘Where we worry ... is rabies in raccoons,’’ Seymour said.

The pets at risk are young puppies which have had close contact with raccoons and which have not yet been vaccinated, he said.

St. Johns Wildlife Care Inc. has picked up 15 sick raccoons within the last month in the county.

‘‘For this time of year, it’s a lot more than we usually see,’’ Inman said. ‘‘There’s just been a lot of animals that have been sick this year.’’

There have been at least five picked up in the last four days in St. Augustine, as well.

‘‘That’s in my shift alone,’’ said Officer Rick Valentine of the city Police Department. ‘‘It seems as though we have a real bad outbreak.’’

Inman said she believes the animals are suffering from distemper, or possibly parvo.

‘‘We’re not absolutely sure what it is,’’ Inman said.

The first call came from Anastasia Island about a month ago. Then, a week later, Wildlife Care started getting calls from the St. Augustine South area.

‘‘It seemed to be contained in those two areas,’’ Inman said.

But, when the hard freeze hit, more were reported on the island, the San Marco Avenue area and downtown.

Distemper, parvo and parasites are not uncommon with wild animals. But more are getting sick. Distemper symptoms are similar to a bad case of pneumonia.

Inman attributes the increase to a series of weather conditions. Many wild animals struggled for food and water during the drought and wildfires last summer.

Wildlife Care was picking up adult raccoons weighing two to three pounds. Normal weight is eight to 12 pounds.

‘‘These guys looked like skeletons,’’ she said.

Then, the continued low rain fall put more stress on wild animals. And the freeze was the last straw for many.

Although there have been no cases of rabies, Inman recommends residents call Wildlife Care, HAWKE or other wildlife agencies if they see any wild animal not behaving normally.

Wildlife Care can be reached at 829-9210. Valentine said city residents can also call the Police Department at 825-1070.