Florida woman hospitalized after 5 raccoons attack her in broad daylight.

[madfloridian]

And this is in an area in the city, not a rural area. This is stunning. Raccoons should not even be seen in the daytime, neither should possums, though even city neighborhoods have many of them. They are nocturnal as a rule.

This is crazy stuff, to be attacked by five raccoons in the afternoon in the city.

Five Raccoons Attack Elderly Woman in Heart of Lakeland


SCOTT WHEELER | The Ledger
Neighborhood residents look at nets and traps that officers from Animal Control will use to try and catch raccoons in Lakeland on Sunday. Five raccoons attacked Gretchen Whitted,74, at her home on Waterford Drive.

An elderly woman suffered severe injuries Saturday after she was attacked by a five-member family of raccoons near the Cleveland Heights Golf & Country Club, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

Gretchen Whitted, 74, of 1210 Waterford Drive was attacked about 5:30 p.m. Saturday evening, reports said. Deputies are searching for the animals in the neighborhood near the home.

Residents in the area near the attack have been warned by the Sheriff’s Office’s automated phone system, officials said. It won't be known if any of the animals are rabid until they are caught and tested. Gretchen Whitted, 74, of 1210 Waterford Drive was attacked about 5:30 p.m. Saturday, officials said. She was taken to Lakeland Regional Medical Center’s trauma unit where she is in stable condition. But the attack will have a lasting emotional and physical impact.

Whitted has received more than two dozen staples for some wounds, but others will require extensive continued treatment, Polk County Sheriff’s officials said.

[HeresyLives]

1. Racoons should be checked for rabies.

[madfloridian]

2. They have to catch them first.

That might not be so easy.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. That is an automatic, and she will get the vax regardless

but this is highly unusual behavior

[madfloridian]

9. Yes, it is very unusual behavior.

I used to sit outside on our patio to smoke...even at night. (I quit 10 years ago...yay)

I had a huge raccoon dash up to me on the patio once at night hissing, and I ran inside quickly.

Another time I had a huge possum, huge, start running toward me as I was getting in my car in the daytime. No reason.

Scary stuff.

[Kceres]

15. Possums are unpredictable.

Had one chase me around my car one night. I'd stopped to try to shoo it off the road so it wouldn't get hit. Very uncooperative and ungrateful little beast but I finally got it to scamper away to safety. They remind me of giant rats.

[madfloridian]

19. Yes, they do remind one of giant rats.

The one that came running after me when I was getting in the car was acting crazy.

[JeanGrey]

46. They are also VERY dangerous. Don't be fooled. My friend's

two terriers cornered one in her back garden and it tore those dogs to pieces!

[Mugu]

73. Possums much prefer pacifism, but will fight if they feel they must.

I spotted this guy stealing the cat's food and chased him down and cornered him under a Spruce tree. He wasn't quite sure what to make of the old fat man that crawled under tree to stick a camera in his face.

[JeanGrey]

94. Your lucky he didn't injure you big time.

[kjackson227]

87. NOOO! This really scares me because I have one posted on my fence...

at least once a week, and it drives my black lab (Bailey) CRAZY. Doesn't phase the thing one bit, so I carry a stick whenever I see him/her back there. From now on when I see it, I'll make sure to bring my dog in.

[JeanGrey]

95. Please do because they can do some terrible damage to

dogs.

[kestrel91316]

58. Possums can have rabies, though it is uncommon. We had several of them

in Orange Co CA a few years back.

[Brother Buzz]

18. Check for rabies, yes, but my money says distemper

[ashling]

28. Racoons can get Canine & Feline varieties of distemper

My brother had a racoon that died of distemper.

[kestrel91316]

61. Distemper does not cause aggression that I am aware of.

Rabies DOES.

[kestrel91316]

57. She should and almost certainly WILL receive rabies PEP whether or not

any of those particular raccoons are caught. She was attacked by several, and there is no way to be sure they have caught every culprit to be tested. The treatment for rabies is NO BIG DEAL medically anymore (hasn't been for 25 years) and is considered virtually 100% effective when given promptly and correctly.

[EFerrari]

3. Good lord! Did she look like food?! The only time I ever saw those

in San Francisco was late at night and even then, the whole family would run if they saw me coming. That poor lady.

[G_j]

107. she was trying to scare them away nt

[aquart]

4. Raccoons are adapting rapidly to urban life.

That includes daytime dining. Young raccoons can be particularly aggressive about their entitlements.

[marmar]

6. They sound like young Republicans.

nt

[madfloridian]

30. lol

Very right. :hi:

[JHB]

55. The Racoons are more honest...

...at least they wear traditional bandit masks.

[Lorien]

77. No, Repugs are far, far more aggressive about their entitlements

and they foam at the mouth more frequently.

[Retrograde]

32. Raccoons *have* adapted to urban life

I have them in my neighborhood, and occasionally see them at dusk. That's why I keep the cats in at night.

I wonder if she was feeding them, either deliberately or accidentally. If she's in the habit of setting food out for cats she would attract raccoons. I had one walk into my house once and head straight for the cat's dish: no more cat door after that.

ETA: they're still better than skunks, which we also have

[Lorien]

75. Raccoons have been living in urban environments for ages without attacking

humans. These animals were either sick or poisoned-probably by some asshole who didn't like seeing wildlife around "his" property. We humans are more aggressive about our "entitlements" than any species on earth.

[aquart]

105. I've seen very aggressive young raccoons.

They, too, have a strong sense of entitlement.

[FreeJG]

7. mod...should this be in the florida section?

[demodonkey]

43. NO -- this could happen in any state and people should be aware.

Raccoons live in a lot more states than just FL.

[Canuckistanian]

8. I've been around raccoons my whole life

I've never heard such a weird story. I've never seen a Raccoon in the daylight, let alone heard of anyone being attacked by one.

[hlthe2b]

10. Only rabid ones... unless they were being provoked

[madfloridian]

13. How likely is a 74 year old woman to provoke raccoons?

She would likely try to get away from them.

[hlthe2b]

36. I was speaking in generalities... I doubt she was provoking them

far more likely they are rabid... I'm sure she is receiving post-exposure prophylactic treatment.

[madfloridian]

37. Yes, local news verified they are giving her treatment

as though they were rabid.

[MidwestTransplant]

11. They have some nasty teeth and should also be kept away from dogs

[bertman]

16. So that's how you make a coon dog! I never knew that.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Brigid]

104. That poor beagle!

I hope it was saved. :(

[Enrique]

12. Rush will blame this on Obama

this is what happens in Barack Obama's America.

[asdjrocky]

14. I live in a urban area and we have raccoons like crazy around here.

And these guys are bold. They'll walk right down the middle of the street like you're not even standing there.

[madfloridian]

17. I live in the city, and we have alligators also.

Couple of blocks from a lake, and we have had them walk down the sidewalk like they own it.

[HubertHeaver]

22. If an alligator is walking down the sidewalk, he does own it.

[madfloridian]

23. lol

Yes, indeed.

:rofl:

[Brigid]

103. Can't argue with that!

:rofl:

[asdjrocky]

24. Now that is wild.

No way I can compete with alligators.

[madfloridian]

27. One hid out in a neighbor's garage.

Caught her by surprise, but she was not hurt.

Once neighbors had someone clearing out some bushes in their yard, and a small gator bit him.

They are quite fearless.

[asdjrocky]

29. Yeah, but not as fearless as Alan Grayson!

He could round up ten of 'em school the pugs with one hand tied behind his back.

[bertman]

20. Never trust a masked raccoon walking down the middle of the street. Don't say you

haven't been warned.

[asdjrocky]

26. I'll consider myself warned my friend.

[recoveringrepublican]

96. We had one that would come and peer into our window at night. freaked me out nt

[LisaL]

21. Sounds like they might have rabies. Yikes.

[ashling]

25. They are nocturnal as a rule.

New Rules :P

[scrinmaster]

31. I live in Lakeland.

I've hated raccoons ever since they tore a hole in the screen around my porch and attacked one of my cats. I only had a paintball gun to scare them off with then, now I've got a .22 with a silencer.

[thunder rising]

38. you might want to edit that posting ..

The Feds will throw you in jail *now* for a silencer ... remove the text NOW

[Treo]

40. You have not a clue WTF you're talking about

A sound suppressor is an NFA item it requires a tax stamp to posses and that's it.

[thunder rising]

42. Learn something everyday. $200 transfer fee to silence a .22 ... cool

In my situation it would at least suggest the existence of a weapon; so, I brought the topic of making one up with a dealer friend of mine and that is where the warning came from. I never ask nor did he mention that I could buy one.

Everything I have is legal, but purchased from 2nd and 3rd private owners.

[Treo]

44. You need a background check

But it's not a difficult process. If you go to thehighroad.us you can probably get the particulars

[Treo]

98. FWIW there's a discussion about silencers going on in "guns" right now NT

[scrinmaster]

49. It's legal.

Got the tax stamp and everything.

[Treo]

33. Racoons are adaptable

If they can get food in the day they'll come out. I lived in New Port Richey a long time ago and we had a family of coons that would wait outside my fathers door for hin to feed them.

They just buried some idiot woman up in Vail that used to set out food for bears in her back yard. They broke open her back porch and got her

[madfloridian]

34. Here is more....they came into her backyard.

She opened the door to shoo them away, and they attacked her. When they did she fell, and they ganged up on her.

Elderly Lakeland woman attacked by pack of raccoons

LAKELAND, FL -- A 74-year-old woman is recovering after she was attacked by a pack of raccoons, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

Gretchen Whitted of 1210 Waterford Drive in Lakeland, suffered severe injuries after five raccoons attacked her outside her home at around 5:30 pm Saturday night. According to deputies, Whitted heard a noise outside her house and saw the animals in her back yard. When she opened her front door to shoo them away, the raccoons began to bite and scratch her legs. As she fell, they continued to attack.

A neighbor heard her cries and rushed to her, and three of the raccoons ran into a drainage ditch, the Sheriff's Office said.

....""The victim is being treated as though she has had a rabies exposure," Judd said. "While we don't know if there has been an actual exposure, we just can't take that chance."

[omega minimo]

35. Goddammed Ralph Nader!!!!

[Odin2005]

39. WTF?

:wow:

[uppityperson]

41. Funny text there under the photo. Are the kids bait???? Baby raccoons can be born rabid

but not show any signs for months. NEVER pick up baby raccoons. Yes,they may be cute and all, and yes they usually don't have rabies, but still not a got idea.

[WVRICK13]

45. I Know Am Going to Get Flamed For This

But, I have had one rabid raccoon attack my dog and a mother raccoon and two young ones dragged 5 feral kittens from my deck one night and ate them. You could hear the kittens screaming as they were dragged through the yard. I shot the mother raccoon the next night and the two young ones were hit in the road in front of my house. I cheered gleefully when I saw them. I now shoot every raccoon that comes close to my house (I live in the woods) and I refuse to feel bad about it.

[closeupready]

48. don't blame you. See my post below.

n/t

[scrinmaster]

50. Nope, I'd have done the same thing.

Too many damn Disney movies have made people think that raccoons are cute cuddly little animals, like big puppies, but they're savage bastards.

[FlaGranny]

56. We had raccoons one place we lived

tearing into our garbage cans nightly. Couldn't keep them out. We tried everything. We got I don't know how many different kinds of "animal proof" trash cans, straps, weights, etc. The raccoons got into them all. Every morning we had to pick up trash strewn about everywhere. So my husband got mad and got out his .22 rifle. He never ran out of raccoons even though he got 2-3 a month for a few years. I used to feel kind of bad about it, but, then again . . .

[piratefish08]

62. opposable thumbs in the animal kingdom. this will be our demise.

[The Straight Story]

63. Racoons are the repubs of the animal world

;)

[kestrel91316]

65. I don't blame you. They can be BAD characters. Raccoon rabies

is a MAJOR problem in some areas, and you don't want to take any chances. There is no shortage of raccoons in North America.

[vadawg]

66. yup thats my policy as well, i fear the racoons more than the bears when its comes to my kids

im still trying to get my wife to realise that they are not cute animals but zombies of the animal world..

[Lorien]

78. Well, that's about as ignorant as it gets.

I do wildlife rehab. Raccoons are as emotional and sensitive as any dog, and far more intelligent. Only sick animals attack-or ones that are poisoned by asshole animal haters.

[Arkansas Granny]

71. No flames from me. I don't have raccoons, but occasionally a possum will

decide to pay us a visit at night. If they get in the dog's fence, she kills them and it doesn't make me feel bad in the least. They are all over my neighborhood and I live in town.

[Treo]

76. Hate to say it but

That's life in the animal kingdom. Raccoons have to eat and that generally means something else has to die.

That said, I'd blast the little bastards too.

[BlooInBloo]

89. You shouldn't, but yah, you might well.

[Owl]

93. I don't blame you either.

[closeupready]

47. My grandmother used to tell me how vicious raccoons are, and

She knew this because she kept cats on her farm, and everytime there was a new litter, the raccoons would just tear them apart. They and possums just freak me out.

[cliffordu]

51. I heard she asked for it by dressing slutty.

:sarcasm:

For some of our more trigger happy members.

[madfloridian]

52. Her wounds were apparently very bad...

Here is a video taken by a neighbor of a family of raccoons roaming around. Also the sheriff getting his face time. He seldom gets to speak inside the city limits so he made good use of it.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/strange/news-article.aspx?storyid=146140&catid=82

"Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd says 74-year-old Gretchen Whitted was trying to shoo the animals away from her front door when they suddenly attacked.

"When she fell down, they enveloped her," said Sheriff Judd in a news conference called Sunday to warn the public of the aggressive raccoons.

"She's literally bitten and scratched from face and the chest all the way down through the legs."

Raccoons are known to be aggressive when going after food, but the sheriff called Saturday's attack very unusual.

"Not in all my years in Florida have I known of a gang attack by raccoons on an individual," Sheriff Judd said.

Christy Steinmetz lives next door to Whitted and ran across the street when she heard her neighbor's screams.

"I've never seen anything like it," Steinmetz said of the attack and her neighbors deep wounds. "They were deep lacerations. You could see flesh."

[MindPilot]

53. Here's one my dogs treed last weekend

Little bastard got into my pond and ate all the fish. Opossums are as common as cats and on two occasions skunks have just wandered into the house through the dog door. I am continually amazed at the wildlife that thrives in the middle of the city.

[raccoon]

54. There must be something in Florida water making people...and animals, batshit crazy. nt

[IndianaGreen]

59. cat food as bait will only catch stray cats.

I found that raccoons love marshmallows.

[NoodleyAppendage]

60. Day of the Animals! I knew that movie would become real! n/t

J

[ddeclue]

64. Were they carrying little signs saying "Keep the gov't's hands off my Medicare?"

:shrug:

[GReedDiamond]

67. About a year ago, I had a family of three Raccoons...

...entering my home over the course of several evenings one week. (I live in an older home - 80+ years - without air conditioning, so I very often keep my front door open, sometimes all day and into the night. It's a crime free neighborhood, so there are no worries about that, as well.)

So these three raccoons come walking into my living room (which is actually more a recording studio), and I confront them from about six feet away, and they were absolutely fearless. They just stood there glaring at me like they wanted to rip my throat open, this happened two or three nights in a row. Each time, I grabbed anything nearby to wave around at them, in an effort to scare them away. I think one time, I had my canister vacuum cleaner sitting there, so I tried scaring them with the long hard plastic tube that attaches to the hose, but they were not moved. In each case, I had to chase them out of the house. On the last night they came in, I grabbed my Little League era 32" baseball bat (from Wrigley Field, 1960s), and the instant they saw the BAT, they fled in terror, and never came back. It seems that the bat was somehow ingrained in them as something to be mightily feared. It was pretty weird...

Also had a possum family of around ten living in my avocado tree, couple years back. All of the babies were literally clinging to mom, she had her paws full.

[ddeclue]

69. They saw The Untouchables?

[Krakowiak]

68. See 'em here in Seattle every day, night and day - never had a problem with them

I think of raccoons as small bears. These sound like rabies is probable.

[Critters2]

70. Florida. Even the animals are crazy.

Hope that woman recovers well.

But, sheesh. :crazy:

[LeftHander]

72. They caught one....

[Lorien]

74. Must be a major rabies outbreak. Raccoons usually run from humans

or follow them out of curiosity. I've lived in Central Florida for over 20 years and my back yard is full of raccoons. They are so laid back that I've stepped on and kicked then by accident and they do nothing other than make a small noise and look a little shocked or hurt. When wild animals attack like that something has gone very wrong. Poisoning can also make animals behave out of character.

[Treo]

97. Habituated Raccoons

The problem W/ what you're saying is that if the Raccoons become accustomed to you not being a threat they become far too trusting when they meet up W/ someone who will kill them.

[Lorien]

79. Just as expected; this thread has brought out the usual gleeful animal haters

who have found yet one more reason to justify their fear and blood lust. I wonder how many innocent, healthy animals will be killed because of this story?

[madfloridian]

80. The story is news. They did attack her, and she was hurt badly.

[caballero]

81. 42

...

[madfloridian]

84. 42 what?

:shrug:

[Krakowiak]

86. now another one must be built (nt)

[Skip Intro]

82. The article also says it looked like a defensive act on the part of the reaccoons.

"From initial reports, this looks like a defensive bite - a momma raccoon protecting her young," said Gary Morse, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "But the severity was probably made worse when the victim fell to the ground, making her a more vulnerable target."

I'm not defending the animals, but they are just animals, I don't think it was like they plotted to attack the woman like a gang or something.

[madfloridian]

83. lol That mean old 74 year old woman.

I am not believing this thread.

The extremes of not wanting this posted, blaming me for the "animal haters" who want to kill them....blaming the old lady for being cut up severely by raccoons...covered with blood.

DU is becoming a very odd place indeed.

The raccoons attacked and bit her over and over, and when she fell down they were on top of her.

That is an attack.

[Skip Intro]

92. Hey, I didn't write the article. I'm sorry the lady got bit. But they were acting defensively,

according to the article.

It's not a premeditated drive by carried out by some gang. Who knows how the woman was trying to "shoo" them away. They evidently reacted instinctively, a mother protecting her young from a perceived threat.

I'm sorry the woman was hurt, but to characterize the incident as a rouge group of criminally insane raccoons randomly attacking innocent citizens, that just seems like an imaginative but inaccurate characterization of what happened.

[closeupready]

99. I know, I agree.

It's insane. People here have lost ... I don't know what, their common sense?

[madfloridian]

85. 74 year old woman bitten from head to toe by raccoons...madfloridian posts about it...

and blamed for the animal haters in the thread. Told that the woman could have been at fault.

The sheriff in one interview used the word "filleted" to describe how she looked when they got through with her. When she fell, they were on top of her biting her and attacking her. That is not normal.

I don't think we should go out and kill all animals, but come on for goodness sake....raccoons are dangerous and an event like this is newsworthy.

[Poll_Blind]

88. Raccoons are cute but they are not to be fucked with or trusted.

I've had a single 15-20 lb (a bit bigger than average) raccoon aggressively challenge me on my own property. I had a knife with me but I really didn't need to make a point and just got the hell away from it. A whole troupe of raccoons (anything more than 2) and I try to steer clear entirely.

PB

[Are_grits_groceries]

90. delete

[madfloridian]

91. Also see this python...pic of huge snake.

[Owl]

100. Is there an update on her condition?

[madfloridian]

101. Doing better, may need skin grafts on legs.

Still in hospital. No raccoons yet. She was treated for rabies just in case.

[Brigid]

102. Raccoons are potentially dangerous.

Rabies isn't the whole story. A friend of my sister's had a raccoons get into their barn one night (they were after the horse feed that was stored there). The raccoons had killed their chihuaua and were going after their other dog, a boxer, when the people heard the commotion and went out to investigate. As others have said, they are not cute and cuddly. Fortunately, the ones I have encountered only seem to be interested in putting as much real estate between me and them as they can. But if they get used to being around humans, it could get bad. :scared:

[whistler162]

106. Talk about real life imitating cartoons....

Disney's "The Replacements" has a reoccuring subplot of the father being attacked by racoons.

I hope she recovers quickly.