Strangley friendly groundhog-sick or seasonal behavior?

[EmilyM]

Yesterday I had an adolescent groundhog loitering about the cottage near the barn. He was curious about people. He came up and sniffed the golf cart tire. He was still around this morning. He seemed friendly and curious, walking towards people. The cat stalked him, and he turned around and chased it for a few steps. This behavior seemed off to me.

I called the police and had them shoot it, as I was afraid it had distemper or rabies. They approached it with a stick and it did not back off. However, when I phoned to the police, the person that answered told me that the females are having babies now, so the others in their dens (?) are confused and acting weird. He sees this in his yard. I have never seen this in 20+ years on the farm.

Is this confusion a real thing? Or was he likely sick? they wouldn’t take him for testing. The policemen told me to throw the body in the woods. I threw it in the dumpster so no animals would eat him and get sick. I’m not sure if vultures can get rabies, but I certainly didn’t want my cat or dog to eat it either. This did not give me great confidence in the local system for tracking such diseases, but I digress. . .

[S1969]

Probably just a curious youngster. And probably one of this year’s babies - they are out on their own now. They only have one litter a year and that happens in early spring so they are probably almost 3 months old…about 15" long maybe? The babies are out on their own now trying to learn how not to get killed by other predators. My dogs killed two this week. They are not very clever. One avoided my dogs by just sitting still in the grass only a couple of feet away and they ran by him…but that was very lucky.

Poor stupid little things.

FWIW, I don’t think groundhogs stay with their families - I don’t believe there are any “yearling” groundhogs being displaced by the new babies, like with deer.

[Janet]

Only mammals can get rabies.

[Toblersmom]

In PA, I’m very surprised the cops told you to throw into the woods rather than submitting it for rabies testing. Why take the chance?

[Bluey]

@Toblersmom

In PA, I’m very surprised the cops told you to throw into the woods rather than submitting it for rabies testing. Why take the chance?

Here, our county health departments only have so much money to test rabies suspect wildlife.
If you don’t have something that is an emergency, like a person bitten, once they run up to the limit, they can’t test extra ones just to be testing, have to wait until the next budget opens.

We came across that with a very sick coon, that they told us if no one was exposed, to just put it out of it’s misery and handle very carefully, but they would not test that one.

If that is so where you are, that could be why they didn’t test that one.

[EmilyM]

@Janet

Only mammals can get rabies.

Good to know. I didn’t know that. Thank
you

[EmilyM]

@S1969

Probably just a curious youngster. And probably one of this year’s babies - they are out on their own now. They only have one litter a year and that happens in early spring so they are probably almost 3 months old…about 15" long maybe? The babies are out on their own now trying to learn how not to get killed by other predators. My dogs killed two this week. They are not very clever. One avoided my dogs by just sitting still in the grass only a couple of feet away and they ran by him…but that was very lucky.

Poor stupid little things.

FWIW, I don’t think groundhogs stay with their families - I don’t believe there are any “yearling” groundhogs being displaced by the new babies, like with deer.

Sounds like the dispatcher didn’t really know his stuff. I guess I didn’t have to have him killed but better safe than sorry. I know my vet freaks out when my dog catches a groundhog because there are some that get rabies.

[CHT]

Not sure if the same applies to ground hogs, but I know a sign of rabies in skunks is that they become more friendly/curious/tame. I think you did the right thing.

[brody]

The only rabid animal I know I have encountered was a rabid groundhog. Day one he was up by the house but seemed healthy. By day two he was ill. We had him tested and he was indeed rabid.

[S1969]

@brody

The only rabid animal I know I have encountered was a rabid groundhog. Day one he was up by the house but seemed healthy. By day two he was ill. We had him tested and he was indeed rabid.

What time of year?

Right now there are baby groundhogs everywhere. I wouldn’t assume any of them are rabid just be virtue of being out of their dens. That said - I’ve been watching them for several weeks now - first with their mothers, now venturing out a bit farther on their own.

But yes, obviously I wouldn’t mess around with one that appeared sick.

[SonnysMom]

@Toblersmom

In PA, I’m very surprised the cops told you to throw into the woods rather than submitting it for rabies testing. Why take the chance?

I am in PA. In the past I have been told they only test if the animal has bitten or scratched a human. I would be able pay to have one tested if it bit one of my pets. I would have to take the body to the vet, have it beheaded and bring just the head to the testing lab. For obvious reasons they discourage people other than vets beheading the animal.

If it didn’t bite/scratch a human they don’t have the funds to do the testing.

[SolarFlare]

@Janet

Only mammals can get rabies.

Groundhogs are mammals - I don’t understand this?

“The woodchuck Marmota monax—sometimes called groundhog—is a rodent and belongs to the large group of mammals Rodentia, which includes squirrels, prairie dogs, and chipmunks.”

[Calamber]

@Janet

Only mammals can get rabies.

That is true but people do not generally think groundhogs can get rabies. I am sorry They do get rabies, we shot one and had it tested in Northern Virginia over 10 years ago, it was positive. The sheriffs office said about the same thing to me, they said that it was that time of year, mom was defending babies in the den, it was fall. Okay, the animal was standing up on it’s very tip toes and running back and forth in a disoriented manner, thankfully it was not biting but it scared me to death, was running back and forth near a kennel full of 8 - 10 week old puppies and my 3 month old unvaccinated coonhound puppy was standing between it and me (this was before rabies vacs were given for 3 month old puppies). I had to fight them to get it tested, they could not tell me how to handle it if it were positive, and they made me drop it off at the Animal Shelter myself, would not come to get it, plus, the animal’s positive status and type was never in the statistics for the county at the end of the year (I checked). This was Loudoun County VA.

[Janet]

My “only mammals can get rabies” was in response to a question whether vultures (birds) can get rabies. They can not.

[brody]

@S1969

What time of year?

Right now there are baby groundhogs everywhere. I wouldn’t assume any of them are rabid just be virtue of being out of their dens. That said - I’ve been watching them for several weeks now - first with their mothers, now venturing out a bit farther on their own.

But yes, obviously I wouldn’t mess around with one that appeared sick.

sorry missed this somehow. October. Was NOT a youth.

[Chall]

Supposedly a raccoon seen during the day is likely rabid. We had a mother raccoon who wandered around during the day, so I don’t think the saying is always accurate.
I think she just needed to get away from the kids or getting a meal.
She picked inappropriate nesting sites, like the basement window well.
I flicked on the light in the furnace room one night and saw 5 grinning faces pressed up against the window all doing happy jazz hands
in their excitement upon seeing me.
Mom figured out that was not the best site and moved them the next day.

[enjoytheride]

@Chall

Supposedly a raccoon seen during the day is likely rabid. We had a mother raccoon who wandered around during the day, so I don’t think the saying is always accurate.
I think she just needed to get away from the kids or getting a meal.
She picked inappropriate nesting sites, like the basement window well.
I flicked on the light in the furnace room one night and saw 5 grinning faces pressed up against the window all doing happy jazz hands
in their excitement upon seeing me.
Mom figured out that was not the best site and moved them the next day.

This is not true. My barn is in the middle of the suburbs and the BM puts out tasty cat food. She stopped putting it out at night to discourage the coons so they started coming in the afternoon. It’s not uncommon to see one in the barn at 5pm trying to make off with the dish. They changed their habits for the food. She trapped and released 19 of them last year.

[WendellsGirl]

I just read momma raccoons with a brood to feed will be out hunting for meals all times of day…the article made it sound like young coons keep their moms rather haggard and exhausted much like human moms.