WACKO RACCO DEATH TOLL
69 critters snared in Cent. Pk. ‘zombie’ epidemic
Nearly 70 Central Park raccoons have perished since the dawn of a “zombie” virus outbreak.
Two more live raccoons showing signs of canine distemper virus — a fatal illness that doesn’t affect humans but can spread to unvaccinated dogs — were picked up Saturday by park rangers, officials said.
Before that, 67 dead or sick raccoons were believed to have been infected with the virus that makes them act like the walking dead, the Parks Department said. The first were found June 24.
All sick raccoons found alive during the outbreak have been humanely euthanized.
A Parks staffer quarantined one poor critter with yellow caution tape near the Central park Reservoir jogging path at 90th Street and Fifth Avenue Saturday. The sickly raccoon waited mostly motionless in the rain for more than an hour until the ranger arrived and captured it around 9:45 a.m. using a snare with a noose. The ranger trapped a second raccoon in the park 15 minutes later at 106th Street and Fifth Avenue.
Raccoons with distemper seem strange. They’ll appear tame or confused before completely losing their coordination, becoming unconscious and often dying. Some can get aggressive.
Parks staff have seen dozens of Central Park raccoons with these “undead” symptoms.
“They looked like they were circulating, wandering, having spasms,” Dr. Sally Slavinski, an assistant director at the Health Department, previously told The Post. “Some of the raccoons had some sort of nasal discharge.”
The Parks Department said authorities continue to monitor the outbreak.
None of the critters have tested positive for rabies.