A bewildered mom happened upon her infant son being attacked by a raccoon that had sneaked inside their Idaho home and successfully fended off the unlikely holiday visitor.
The mother called the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) and the Cassia County Sheriff’s Office Dec. 23 after she heard “a loud noise in the home” and discovered the raccoon attacking her baby boy, Idaho Fish and Game shared in a release.
Authorities said the mother managed to grab the furry intruder to save her son.
The infant was taken to the Cassia Regional Hospital in Burley for undisclosed injuries before being transferred to a hospital in Salt Lake City.
According to officials, a sheriff’s deputy returned to the home with the baby’s father, located the animal and killed it.
IDFG noted it was unclear how the raccoon got inside the home and that there were no other raccoons inside.
The animal’s carcass has since been tested for rabies by the Idaho Bureau of Laboratories, and tests were negative, the release said.
“Once notified of the incident, staff from the Magic Valley Region activated their Wildlife Human Attack Response Team,” the IDFG wrote. “This specially trained team of department staff has the responsibility to act to protect the safety of the public and incident responders; attempt to identify, locate, and control the animal(s) involved in a human-wildlife incident; and conduct, document and report investigative findings.”
The agency noted that raccoon attacks on humans in the state are “extremely rare” and that there has only been one case of raccoon rabies documented in Idaho.
The IDFG instructed Idahoans to “never purposely feed a raccoon,” saying they generally avoid humans unless they feel “threatened.”
“As with all wildlife that can be found around homes in Idaho, the best course of action to avoid raccoon encounters is to take preventative actions before a problem starts,” the department wrote. “Raccoons can live in a variety of habitats, but an area with access to water and food will attract them.
“A homeowner can limit food sources by securing residential garbage, removing any fallen fruit or rotten produce from your yard or garden, feeding pets indoors, keeping pet food securely stored, and removing or securing bird feeders,” IDFG added. “Blocking raccoon access to hiding places in sheds and outbuildings and sealing off potential entryways and exits in and around a home will also discourage raccoon use.”
