Do raccoons attack people?
Raccoons are known to be aggressive, and, beyond any doubt, they are
good at defending themselves from other predatory animals. They are
equipped with long, sharp claws. Their jaws are well adjusted to
hunting and fighting, and they will serve great purpose in fighting
with other animals and other raccoons. Not only that raccoons are
equipped with great assets to hunt and fight, but they are also
equipped with great instincts and senses. They have sharp eyesight
and hearing, as well as precise coordination and balance of
movements. Joined together, all these make a raccoon an animal that
is very well equipped to put on a decent fight. People, however, are
often concerned over whether or not raccoons will pose a threat to
humans. Are raccoons capable of attacking people? Will raccoons
attack and injure people?
Whether or not raccoons will attack people depends on the situation.
Raccoons will attack if they feel threatened and particularly if
they are sick. Raccoons will attack people only if they feel
threatened, and they can inflict serious injuries. Not only that
raccoons can hurt a person with scratching and biting, but they can
also transmit serious diseases, like rabies. Even though raccoons
will not purposefully attack humans to prey on them or kill, they
will attack in self-defense or to defend their litter. For these
reasons, people are not recommended to try and trap raccoons on
their own and try to transport and relocate them outside of cage
traps.
Raccoons will definitely attack in self-defense. The examples of
these situations are numerous, like if a homeowner surprises and
scares a raccoon in a small space, where the animal can’t escape
safely, or when a homeowner attempts to grab a raccoon using their
hands. Another example of a risky situation is when a homeowner
attempts to move the animal out of the trap on their own, touching
the animal and not giving it the space to escape and find shelter.
Trying to handle a raccoon on your own can be particularly dangerous
if a person is not absolutely sure that the animal is not protecting
their litter, which can be near. In this situation, a raccoon will
act aggressively to protect its young, and this is a situation where
a raccoon will try to chase a person away with biting and
scratching. Normally, the animal’s reaction would be to try to get
away and attack only in cornered, but protecting a litter is the
strongest instinct in animals, and this is the situation where a
raccoon will decide to purposefully attack a person.
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