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Sheriff Describes Raccoon "Gang Attack" On Lakeland Woman

 

Lakeland, Florida--

A Lakeland woman is recovering from serious injuries in the hospital after sheriff's investigators say she was "gang attacked" by five raccoons Saturday afternoon.

 

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."

 

Sheriff Judd called a news conference Sunday to warn parents in the Lakeland neighborhood about the potential danger.

 

"They've attacked once. If someone frightens them, will they attack again?" Judd asked.

 

Polk County Animal Control officers fanned out, placing traps across the neighborhood, in hopes of finding the raccoons involved.

 

"Even if we capture a lot of raccoons [sunday night], we can't be sure they are our suspect raccoons," Sheriff Judd said.

 

If caught, the animals will be killed to see whether they are rabid.

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Seriously, it would not surprise me were these to have been "pet" 'coons. Raccoons have a well-deserved rep for being very nasty on occasion. Around this part of the world there's an old saying, "Crazy as a pet 'coon."

 

Whenever wild critters get used to humans being benign critters 'stedda nasty killers of varments, humans start getting hurt. And Cruzn's absotively right about those who've run a trap line. Raccoons can be very nasty and tough critters to mix it up with unless you've got a .22 or whatever.

 

m

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Have they bloodtested the trespassers? They might have transmitted something to the tiger.

 

Stupid people. ](*,)

 

When I was in college, our biology class went on a field trip to a wildlife prairie park. Essentially, the people, us, were caged and we viewed the animals in their normal habitat. At the Tiberwolf area, some college co-ed put her fingers through the tightly woven fence. "Awww cute puppy." The professor got the word 'Don't" out and in less than the time it takes to bat an eye, a wolf latched on! Luckily she had leather gloves on. Well, after that she had A leather glove on. Mr. Cute wolf and his / her comrades made short work of that leather glove. Citifolk are moslty stupid when it comes to animals, especially wild ones.

 

BTW, she kept her hands to herself at the puma enclosure.

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"If caught' date=' the animals will be killed to see whether they are rabid."

 

That was my first thought. I know raccoons can be vicious, but for them to attach like that seems odd. [/quote']

 

There's every chance the 'coons thought they were under attack when the woman fell among them. They're NOT he cute, lovable, little critters that Disney has led Americans to believe. They're destructive, messy, dangerous things that should not be encouraged to co-habit with humans.

 

Not that many nights ago a mama 'coon and her 3 babies were wandering through the back yard (the Siskiyou Forest) when they were startled by a noise. Mama jumped bad, preparing to fight; the babies scampered up a tree, just like in the movies. So adorable...'till someone makes the mistake of going outside for photo-op. I shot the babies in the butt with some BB's to discourage 'em from hanging about. When I turned the lights off, they got outta the prune tree, collected their mama and went their merry way. We have all manner of wildlife on our place at all times of day and night and my philosophy has always been to leave the wild things to the wild and encourage them to move along. City peeps seem to want to make pets out of everything they see.

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I have a lady friend who has tracked a mountain lion on her ranch to where it was stalking her and was almost close enough for their quick sorta attack. She carries a sidearm a lot.

 

Meanwhile the "gee they're cute" folks want even more mountain lions around. Given the natural response of the cats to the sound of a wounded small animal - that sounds exactly like a small human child crying and already brought one nasty attack in this region - I just hope it's a "gee, they're pretty and want more" family that loses the kid.

 

I know that sounds cruel and uncharitable, but...

 

m

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"If caught' date=' the animals will be killed to see whether they are rabid."

 

That was my first thought. I know raccoons can be vicious, but for them to attach like that seems odd. [/quote']

Not Odd at all. I live in the mountains, and when you are between their food and them, they get AGGRESSIVE! The more of them, the more aggressive they get.

 

Our coyotes are way out of hand, too. Not to mention the Mountain Lion population on the rise.

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Not Odd at all. I live in the mountains' date=' and when you are between their food and them, they get AGGRESSIVE! The more of them, the more aggressive they get.

 

Our coyotes are way out of hand, too. Not to mention the Mountain Lion population on the rise.[/quote']

 

 

Not enough herd thinning of the deer and the antelope, where they play.

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RE mountain lions.

 

The males have a large territory they both cover as a predator, as a breeding male and - like it or not - to kill or run off potentially competitive breeding males.

 

Females have a smaller territory, several per male's territory, but they also tend to be nasty to even their own female cubs especially, after weaning.

 

So now the younger lions have to find another place to go. They head out onto the prairie, into towns - yupper - and along streambeds looking for places to live. They get hungry, scared - and eat domestic pets as well as attempt livestock and or other "prey" that may include human beings.

 

That's why South Dakota had to join Wyoming with a lion hunting season to cut populations to what is sustainable with some degree of safety for human populations.

 

As for the deer and antelope, the younger cats getting out of the mountains aren't skilled enough. Antelope can pace a car easily on a decent country dirt road. Deer nearly as well, although they tend to run in front of the cars to get squashed. Lions don't do well with them. The younger lion is a much more efficient predator of sheep, cows and calves, although they may also discover they can kill for the fun of it, too.

 

Yup, lovely critters, especially if you find them on your porch or note their tracks have been stalking you.

 

m

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