Raccoon attacks man in Pa.

[lowangle al]

Unfortunately the man was me. I was out on a hike yesterday not far from home and as I was walking along a stream when I heard something behind me. I turned and there was this raccoon, snarling and coming in fast.. I jumped back and yelled at it and swung my stick at it. It backed off and regrouped, and i guess he figured he could take me because he came at me again. I yelled and swung my stick again. This time he backed off about twenty feet or more and I thought this was a good opportunity to run. As soon as I turned to run he came at me again. This was a full charge from twenty some feet away. At this point I really wished I had a bigger stick. I went at him yelling and I hit the ground in front of him with my stick. I think the impact of stick on the ground made it aware that HE might hurt, because he backed off for good.

It was quite a while before I could relax and quit looking over my shoulder. At first I assumed it had rabies but as we got better acquainted I notice what looked like two porcupine quills stuck under it's jaw. Maybe he was injured and desperate or maybe he did have rabies and that's why he bit a porcupine. If I didn't have the stick I'm pretty sure I would have had to kick it to keep it off me and that would have been way to close for comfort..

 

[Odyssey]

Ya got me Al. I kept reading right to the end waiting for the punchline. And it never came.
Rabies is no laughing matter though. I happened upon a road sign driving home from work today warning against relocating wildlife because of rabies. It has spread throughout this region and authorities are wrestling with its control. Glad to hear you escaped unharmed Al. I hear the jabs are unpleasant.

 

[Guest]

Watching t.v. one night; heard unreal sounds coming from my back deck.
Got my hand on a handy Ruger Single Six, loaded with .22 magnum.
Cracked the back door, started to step outside on the deck, but looked first.
Saw a huge boar coon had our outside cat backed into a corner of the house.
I stepped onto the deck, leading with the hand that held the Ruger.
Hollered at the coon a couple of times & stomped my foot on the deck.
Coon immediately transferred it's attention to me; hair on it's back was up, head was down, and it was growling loudly.
Then it charged..............
It met a .22 magnum slug about 7 foot from me.
Cat evacuated the area hastily.
Wasn't anymore need to worry about the noise; all was quiet, I went back inside.
Moved the coon the next day to the woods behind our house; a day later I deduced that from coon remains that coyotes enjoy a good meal of raccoon.

A man, and a coon need to know their limitations.

BOB

 

[lowangle al]

I would have tried to kill it but didnt have the guts. I was afraid that if my stick broke and it wasn't incapacitated I would be defenseless. I think I need to start carrying a gun, I was also attacked by a dog not long ago.

Brad, rabies is also on the rise in this area.

 

[PaddlingPitt]

Kathleen and I are occasionally followed by coyotes while we are out walking on our trails. They are stealthy, and we have sometimes not spotted them until they are only a few feet behind us. We have started carrying our bear banger. It has worked well. They don't like the very loud noise.

 

[memaquay]

Wow, a rabid racoon really raises the heart rate! I'm surprised you have rabies in Alaska. In Northern Ontario we never have rabies, the vet says it has something to do with our cold climate, or maybe its just because we live in Bugtustle Nowhere. Coyotes are a new development up here, only seen them in the last fifteen years. I would have thought the wolves would have sorted them out. When I'm out snowshoeing, I always take a gun, mostly just because its fun to take a gun, but sometimes because wolves see dogs as walking snacks.

 

[deerfly]

I would have tried to kill it during the first charge. Needless to say charging a human is totally out of character behavior for a raccoon and a sign he ain't right. After many years of running hounds for deer I know quite well how scrappy a raccoon can be, even a little one is capable of a nasty bite. I've seen mature boar coon's tear up some hounds before getting ripped to shreds, You don't want any part of an angry or deranged raccoon.

 

[lowangle al]

Mem, I was in Pa.when it happened, I don't think there are raccoons in Ak.

deerfly refer to my post above.

 

[deerfly]

al, you need a bigger stick!

 

[forest runes]

Al, when out in the woods of Pennsylvania ,You need to be concerned about your security at all times. You known its not as if your in a safe place like Alaska !

 

[yellowcanoe]

Al, when out in the woods of Pennsylvania ,You need to be concerned about your security at all times. You known its not as if your in a safe place like Alaska!

I think you left out an emoji. After what happened to Canotrouges friend you have to be prepared always everywhere and sometimes that is not enough

 

[Sweetfancymoses]

al, you need a bigger stick!

Agreed, you might shoot your eye out with a gun.

 

[Odyssey]

I thought we were hayseeds growing up, and we might have been, building tree forts, climbing apple trees, swimming in creeks, jumping in hay mows, chasing-being chased by farm animals of all breeds...that is until I met "a different animal". Friends of our American aunt & uncle invited us all for a visit. Their rural property was outside Canton Ohio somewhere. All I knew was it was on a really long dirt lane that was perfect for undisturbed bicycle rides all over Kingdom Come. There were few fences, no crops, barns or farm animals, but we still had a grand time getting dirty and dusty always within shouting distance of the back door. Among the domestic "pets" I remember a friendly dog, an indifferent cat, a mild mannered donkey and a playful racoon. My mom kept whispering to me "Don't touch the racoon." I couldn't understand why not. So long as it was fed a steady stream of snacks it hung around us like a family dog. My parents considered it unsettling. My aunt referred to the whole gang as "A Goddamned Menagerie". I think she was including the kids in that description, because they were wilder than anything I'd seen before. The racoon was tamer and better mannered than my new playmates. But on this vacation I was allowed to fit in with the local yokels, and that suited me. We got on like a house on fire tear-assing around outdoors from sunrise to sunset. Unlike at home where I'd receive basic daily instruction like "Stay off the main road. Don't accept candy from strangers. Quit asking Mrs. Pilon questions, and leave the neighbours cows alone; on this lonely Ohioan farm I was just scooted out the back screen door with "Don't come back till dinnertime! ...And don't touch the racoon!!"

 

[Guest]

al, you need a bigger stick!

Or a shovel. I was out digging in the garden at our old house when our Rhodesian Ridgeback started barking and growling furiously. Shane was usually a quiet dog, so I walked around the edge of the barn to see what was up.

He had a mangy half-haired raccoon trapped against the side of the barn. The coon was wobbly unsteady on its feet, but still nasty, and neither of them was giving an inch in the Mexican standoff.

I had no time to run into the house and grab the little H&R 9 shot, so I waded into the fray and that rabid (or distempered) little b*st*rd charged me.

Seriously Mr. Coon, you think I am less dangerous than that Ridgeback? I cracked him a home run swing across the head with the shovel, beat his arse to death and called animal control to come pick up the carcass and test it.

 

[lowangle al]

Al, when out in the woods of Pennsylvania ,You need to be concerned about your security at all times. You known its not as if your in a safe place like Alaska !

Hey fr, bad stuff can happen anywhere, I'm sure you saw on the news about the women attacked by a bear in Muncy a few weeks ago. She was dragged 90 yards and ended up in critical condition. I couldn't imagine if a bear wanted me as bad as that raccoon did. With 30,000 bears in Pa. and the amount of time I spend in the woods I need to get a gun here. All my guns are in Ak.

 

[lowangle al]

There are a lot of things that can potentially hurt someone out there in a rare situation. A women was attacked and repeatedly bitten by an otter while swimming in the lake a few miles downstream from the lake I'm on. It was only the second documented case of an otter attack.

 

[Gamma1214]

PA and AK have reciprocity for concealed carry so either permit will work in either state. Travel to and from is protected by Federal law but follow guidelines carefully when traveling through states that do not honor others' permits (MN, for example, does not honor PA's permit). Incidentally, Alaska's permit is far more widely honored than PA's so that would likely be the best place to obtain it. Better to have a gun and pray you never need it than to need one and pray you had it. Glad you didn't need it that day but I do wonder about that coon... rabies, distemper, just a bad hair day?

 

[lowangle al]

Thanks Gamma but Ive been thinking about getting something more compact than my S&W 357 revolver. I don't have a cc permit, I don't need one to transport do I?

 

[memaquay]

Do you drive through Canada from Alaska or fly? How would you bring a handgun across gun unfriendly Canadian territory? Probably couldn't even bring a Red Rider, dang Canadian snowflakes!

 

[Gamma1214]

You don't need a CC permit to transport but (even with one, I believe), firearms must be unloaded & stored in the trunk. In vehicles w/o a trunk, they need to be stored (unloaded) in a locked container (other than the console or glove box) and not within "easy reach". This may help: https://www.nraila.org/articles/20150101/guide-to-the-interstate-transportation

Canada does allow transport from the lower 48 to AK. You'll need a Non-Resident Firearms Declaration (Form CAFC 909 EF). It has to be in triplicate and must be signed in the presence of the border agent (don't sign it beforehand). Good for up to 3 guns, lasts 60 days and costs about $35. There are restrictions on the type of firearms as well so be sure your barrel is at least 4 inches on a handgun. A useful link to get you started: https://www.thoughtco.com/laws-for-taking-guns-into-canada-3321846

As always, check laws before your travel; they change often and I would hold out VERY little hope of ever seeing a confiscated firearm again.