That DIY racoon rescue video is getting way too popular

My wife showed me this short video trend where people are 'saving' racoons from dumpsters by grabbing them barehanded. I watched three of them last Tuesday and every single one ended with the person getting scratched or bitten. One guy in Ohio got a tetanus shot after his second attempt. Has anyone actually looked up how many rabies cases come from handling wild animals like this?

3 comments

3 Comments

mason_reed4715d ago

My own dumb self tried to be all "animal rescuer" last summer with a squirrel that looked stuck in a fence. Ten minutes later I was at urgent care explaining to a nurse that yes, I did try to pick up a wild rodent with my bare hands like some kind of nature superhero. The rabies stats are scary enough but honestly the tetanus shot hurt worse than the bite itself. I swear half those raccoon rescue videos are just people who watched too many Steve Irwin reruns and forgot he had like 45 years of experience. My wife still brings up the squirrel incident whenever I suggest doing something outdoorsy.

the_robin15d ago

Dude I did the same thing with a baby bird that "fell out of its nest" turns out it was a fledgling and the mom was watching me from a tree the whole time. Felt real dumb when the wildlife center guy was like "congrats you just kidnapped that bird." At least you got a tetanus shot out of it, I just got called a birdnapper by my girlfriend for a month straight.

green.noah14d ago

Every nature rescue story starts with good intentions and ends with someone learning a hard lesson.