Did the coyote and bald eagle sightings keep you from thinking about all of those rabid raccoons roaming around Central Park? Well, they're still there—however, the city plans to vaccinate all Upper Manhattan raccoons against rabies so that we don't get some sort of I Am Legend/Cujo hybrid scenario on our hands.
They announced the vaccination program today and say they've documented over three dozen rabid raccoons in the area since December (during the time, one human and one dog have been bit). That is a lot! To get an idea of how this compares to other years and other boroughs, here's a chart they provided us with:
The trap-vaccinate-release process will be a collaborative effort involving the Health Department, the Parks Department, the Central Park Conservancy and the US Department of Agriculture—who are all hoping to contain the outbreak. They began humanely trapping the raccoons in Central Park, Riverside Park and Morningside Park today—with traps being set up in remote areas (though you may want to keep your eye on off-leash pets, and children for that matter.)
This may seem like common sense, but since one person tried to nurse a sick raccoon back to health and was bitten recently, it's worth mentioning: avoid rabid raccoons! If you see one, call 311, and if one attacks you or your pet, call 911 and/or the Animal Bite Unit. Simple as that. Learn more about rabies here.
