heherh

My nephew was out scouting in the middle of the day and came up on one that was injured.
Something wrong with his leg, bleeding badly.
He didn't have anything with him.:eek5:
Went back to put it out of it's misery and it was gone.

A rabid raccoon probably would have done the same thing.

Kids should avoid ALL wild animals that are capable of transmitting rabies.

Since most wildlife, with the exception of deer, turkey and moose, will shy away from people. Also, the most common rabid animals people encounter are species that are primarily nocturnal by nature, so that seeing a coyote, fox, skunk or raccoon during daylight hours is unusual. Seeing the same animals during the day and around heavily populated/traffic areas is even more so.
The only real exception would be in the spring when coyotes are hunting to feed their pups. Then they will be more brazen, but also more cautious.

This also reminded me of a few incidents over the past few years where people had coyotes attacking family pets in their own yards.
My mother had commented on seeing a lot of "lost cat/dog" posters in our area. I explained that if the pet in question was a small cat or dog, it's pretty much gone. Living close to the Blue Hills Reservation, I see my fair share of wildlife driving to and from work.
Keep an eye out for an increase in the number of "lost pets" in your area.

I always get a kick out of a newscast that states a rabid fox/coyote/skunk or racoon was shot today in some local town. When in fact what they probably had if anything is distemper if they were acting strangely or looked ill. It takes ten days to get the test back for rabies. If it takes ten days then it is certain that a newscaster or anyone else would not know if any animal is rabid when it was shot. Towns don't very often test an animal after an official shoots it, because the test cost $500.00, and no municipality is going to pay for it. If someone was bitten by an alledgedly rabid animal they would have to pay for the test if they wanted it done. Thats why if anyone is bitten they always start the treatment for rabies because it takes so long to get the test results, and if they did contract rabies from a bite and then waited the tens days they would be screwed.