'Drunk' West Virginia Raccoons Likely Sick With Distemper: Police

MILTON, W.V. — Raccoons found in a West Virginia town that police suspected of being drunk on crabapples are actually likely sick with distemper.

The Milton, West Virginia police department had said in a Facebook post on Monday that they received two calls on suspected rabid raccoons but they believed the animals were apparently just inebriated.

Police said one of the raccoons was apprehended on Friday and another was caught on Saturday.

Both of them were released unharmed near the woods, according to police. The quirky story about raccoons finding some fermented crabapples made national headlines but the tale turned tragic when police revealed that one of the apprehended raccoons had to be euthanized.

On Thursday, police revealed that they believe the original raccoon that was caught was indeed drunk on fermented crabapples. After checking on the animal, police said it was moving around and had left the area where it was dropped near the woods.

Police say they were advised by Point of View Farms, a non-profit group, that they believed the raccoons were suffering from distemper after a report of a third raccoon that climbed up a tree and fell out. The farm advised police to trap this raccoon and find the other released animals.

The second raccoon that was caught was found suffering from seizures about 10 feet away from where it had been released. The animal had to be euthanized due to its condition, police said.

The raccoon that fell out of the tree also had to be euthanized, according to police.

While health officials agreed with the distemper diagnosis, the animals are being tested for rabies out of an abundance of caution.

"Sorry for such a long and depressing post but since this incident garnered so much unexpected national attention we wanted to be as transparent as possible," police wrote on Facebook. "Please do not approach any wild animals that are acting abnormal and remember their natural instinct should be to avoid people or to run away."

Police also said they hoped that the original raccoon was in fact drunk on crabapples and is thriving in the wild.

Over the summer, a number of raccoons died in New York City's Central Park after an outbreak of distemper. The outbreak prompted city officials to warn residents to leash their dogs at all times due to the outbreak. Humans are not affected by distemper but they were warned not to interact with wildlife in the park. Dogs and other wildlife are vulnerable to the virus.

The disease spreads through contact with infected saliva, urine and feces. Canine Distemper Virus is likened to a "zombie virus" because it can make animals display strange behavior.

Photo via Shutterstock