Ailing raccoon discovered near mall

BANGOR – A raccoon that looked like it was in “horrible shape,” according to an eyewitness, was captured just before 5 p.m. Thursday by a game warden along Stillwater Avenue and died a short time later.

Police and a game warden were dispatched to Pet Quarters at 744 Stillwater Ave. in response to a report about a rabid raccoon in the parking lot, but when Warden Jim Fahey arrived he found a sick, possibly injured raccoon.

“My intuition was it was not a case of rabies,” he said. “It did not show any aggression.”

Fahey captured the animal using a lasso attached to a pole, but “before I could go too far with it, it expired,” he said.

The animal will not be tested for rabies, since it didn’t have any known interaction with humans or other animals, he said.

“I think it was just disoriented” and may have been hit by a vehicle, Fahey said.

Several people, including store employees, were watching the raccoon while it made its way toward Hogan Road until police officers arrived.

“They’re sort of coming out of their winter dormancy this time of year,” Fahey said. “There is farm country directly behind the store. There will be a lot more in the upcoming months.”

Most of the time people do not see raccoons and other nocturnal animals, such as skunks, because the animals hide during the day, the warden said.

“A general red flag that something is wrong with raccoons and skunks is them making an appearance during the day,” Fahey said. “If they’re out at noontime, there is a problem.”

And if “they show aggression to whoever approaches them, in my opinion, it would be a clue” the animal could be rabid, he said.

When an animal appears sick or wounded, game wardens are contacted, but if an animal is just being a nuisance, animal damage control agents should be the ones called, Fahey said.

Animal damage control agents are certified through the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to collect and transplant animals, and pest services are another alternative, he said.

“Game wardens do not trap nuisance wildlife,” Fahey said. “We take care of the sick and the injured.”

Bangor’s DIF&W office may be reached by calling 941-4440 during normal business hours. People dealing with sick or wounded animals after hours should call local law enforcement, who will contact the Maine Warden Service.