The man refused to provide his real name and gave the hospital a fake phone number, delaying contact tracing, according to officials.
ROSWELL, Ga. — A Cherokee County man’s attempt to rescue an injured raccoon spiraled into a bizarre and dangerous rabies scare this week at the Chattahoochee Nature Center, according to a statement from the center.
Officials said the man found the raccoon vocalizing in the road and, lacking anything to keep the raccoon isolated in, he wrapped it in his coat and held it against his chest for more than an hour while driving to the nature center, despite the center being listed to not accept raccoons.
During the drive, the raccoon freed its head and bit the man on the face and hands, according to the center. He then drove home, secured the raccoon in a blanket with duct tape and proceeded to the nature center, arriving an hour before its wildlife clinic opened. Children were simultaneously arriving for a day camp at the CNC.
Staff met him in the parking lot and insisted he seek medical treatment while they secured the animal. CNC officials said that after “much forceful insistence,” he finally agreed to go get checked out at the hospital.
A nearby veterinary hospital agreed to accept the raccoon for euthanasia and testing, and a Georgia Wildlife Network transporter moved it from the nature center to the clinic.
Within 48 hours, test results confirmed the raccoon was positive for rabies.
Officials said the man initially refused to provide his real name and gave the hospital a fake phone number, delaying contact tracing. It was only when a family member called the CNC the next day that they were able to get accurate contact information for the man.
They stressed the importance of calling licensed wildlife rehabilitators before intervening and warned that untreated rabies in humans is almost always deadly.