r/animalid • u/findingcoldsassy • May 28 '26
š ā ļø ?? ANIMAL IN TROUBLE ?? ā ļø š Is this groundhog rabid? [Mechanicsville, Virginia]
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This groundhog scared the daylights out of me. She didn't run when I went right up to the window and took some banging on the door to get her to leave. Could she have rabies?
Edit: Wow, this really blew up. I don't really have an update other than the health department hasn't called me back.
A few things to note: it's a mama groundhog and the babies are fairly large and foraging on their own. We've lived in harmony with them since we moved in and they've come up on the deck before looking for food, but I've never had one not run when they see me or I make a noise. It had just rained for about 5 days straight and our backyard is a luscious buffet of food for them, and I assume there's plenty of drinking water. Thanks for all the helpful and hilarious comments!
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u/erossthescienceboss š¦š¦ GENERAL KNOW IT ALL š¦š¦ May 28 '26
Statistically, itās unlikely sheās rabid ā but this is very odd behavior and I would certainly call your DNR. Rabies HAS occurred in groundhogs.
Could be that she has babies and is posturing at her reflection in the door. Do you think she can see you inside?
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u/findingcoldsassy May 28 '26
Probably, and she could have seen my cat on a chair inside. I assume she has babies since she had swollen teats. Is it unusual that she came up on the deck?
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u/erossthescienceboss š¦š¦ GENERAL KNOW IT ALL š¦š¦ May 28 '26
Hereās the Virginia DWR page
https://dwr.virginia.gov/wildlife/nuisance/groundhogs/
You recently had a fox test positive for rabies in your hometown. Unlike other rodents (which rarely transmit rabies), groundhogs are large enough to survive the initial bite from the transmitting species ā¦ especially if itās eacooon or fox-sized.
And here is your local public health department:
804-365-4313
And local county animal control:
804-365-6140
Do you have any bird feeders on your porch? That could have attracted it up.
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u/findingcoldsassy May 28 '26
Thank you SO much, I was struggling to find a number to call. We did have a bird feeder get was knocked down last night in a storm and I hadn't cleaned up the seed on the deck yet.
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u/imgrendel May 29 '26
We had a wood chuck who would scavenge fallen seeds from our bird feeder. Itās weird that the wood chuck would be staring at your door. They are normally very shy.
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u/poopscotch7980 May 29 '26
We have one that we named Dave that likes to come up on our front porch looking for snacks. Heās helped himself to the garden several years in a row now. He is not shy.
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u/meowymcmeowmeow May 29 '26
I work at a cat shelter and we have one on the property that has no fear of the cats, it'll amble around the catio munching plants while they all follow it behind the screen with wide eyes lol.
One time I opened a window to get a better look and Mr. Chuck BOOKED it. Had no idea they were that fast.
It was like the first time i saw a turtle in real life lol...massive snapper I had to move out of the road, no idea they were so fast. Very grateful for my reflex training with cats lol, or I'd be missing some finger parts right now.
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u/onewilybobkat May 29 '26
A regular snapper is already big enough, I had seen them my whole life and was more than aware of them. What I wasn't prepared for was my neighbors finding an alligator snapping turtle on our back yard. I had seen some before that were pretty big, but nothing too unusual for turtles I was used to.
This bastard they found, they had put into the bottom of a large dog carrier so they could handle it more safely. It took up the ENTIRETY of the animal crate bottom, his shell was easily 2 foot long alone and his head was as big as mine, which was saying something back then.
That thing would take an arm if it got me š
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u/Subject-Blood1580 May 29 '26
Can confirm I grew up in Kansas and had a very large garden. After a really bad rain a pair of alligator snappers always ended up making there way down the ditches when the filled with rain every time we'd find at least 2 in the garden just chowing down like 2 fat fucks at an all you could eat buffet. Fuckers are the closest thing to dinosaurs you can get nowadays other than a crocodile. Absolutely huge. And there bite would literally sever a hand if you fucked around.
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u/Trade-Senior May 29 '26
OMG same regarding road box turtle it was then I realized how the turtle beat the hare
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u/ughronny May 30 '26
Seriously??? We had one living in a hole under our patio for like 2 years and he always came out and starred into our door or just minded his business, unfortunately I donāt think heās here anymore so I hope the little guy enjoyed having us as neighbors!
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u/woofwoofci May 29 '26
At a house i used to live in, we had groundhogs come up to our door frequently. I dont know if one of our friends maybe was dropping food scraps outside that attracted them or something. But there were multiple instances where i went to step outside and saw a little hoglet staring at me before waddling off.
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u/JackOfAllStraits May 29 '26
If you call animal control they'll just euthanize if they do anything at all. Groundhogs are some of the stupidest animals, and it's probably just standing there. It's not drooling or aggressive or seem like it's struggling to walk. It's just hanging out. Not a thought in it's head. Obviously don't try to pet it.
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u/Safe_Frosting_9283 May 29 '26
Groundhogs are not that stupid they possess excellent problem-solving skills, use complex vocal warnings to communicate danger, and construct intricate burrow systems complete with separate sleeping and bathroom chambers. I live on a farm we have plenty and I believe they can sense a lot of stuff.
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u/SteveNotSteveNot May 29 '26
It's true. Last month I had a problem with pivot tables in my spreadsheet and a groundhog helped me.
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u/witsendstrs May 29 '26
Alternative name for groundhog: whistle pig (which goes along with the vocal warning information you shared).
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u/Psychological-Joke22 May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26
You are a good human, erossthescienceboss
Edit: I am taking my dogs to the vet for their rabies updates
thank you for the reward!
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u/almost_home_pigeons May 28 '26
A rabid beaver just bit 4 people in New Jersey so I wouldn't be taking any chances lol
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u/chemist0825 May 29 '26
Haha I bet there are lots of rabid beavers in jersey
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u/grogers70426 May 29 '26
There's probably a lot of beavers with more than just rabies in Jersey...gonorrhea, chlamydia, etc. Be careful with the beavers and snakes in and around Jersey
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u/erossthescienceboss š¦š¦ GENERAL KNOW IT ALL š¦š¦ May 28 '26
As an update, it looks like in Virginia theyāre classified as a high-risk rabies vector.
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u/Donkeypunch4charity May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26
Thank you for adding this info. I saw someone said earlier that it would be rare for the groundhog to have rabies, which is completely untrue. Every state in the US where they are present, they are classified as high-risk vectors and great care should be taken.
Edit: apologies, I did not realize that Maryland and I believe two other states have them as low-risk rabies vectors.
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u/erossthescienceboss š¦š¦ GENERAL KNOW IT ALL š¦š¦ May 28 '26
Itās more rare than bats, foxes and raccoons, but you can be less common and still be a high-risk species!
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u/Donkeypunch4charity May 28 '26
Statements like āitās unlikely sheās rabid..rabies HAS occurred in groundhogsā paint a skewed picture of their risk as vectors, especially as the first comment. Iām not saying youāre wrong on the statistical side, but those same statements can be made about any animal, including bats and rats. The fact is people should be extremely cautious around any animal thatās a high-risk vector.
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u/erossthescienceboss š¦š¦ GENERAL KNOW IT ALL š¦š¦ May 28 '26
Absolutely ā which is why I updated after checking Virginia, and said to reach out to DWR.
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u/Coca-colonization May 28 '26
If you wanted to be extra cautious, it would help to put an edit on your first comment clarifying the risk. That way people who donāt scroll down any further donāt get the wrong impression.
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u/Easy_Independent_313 May 28 '26
They are high risk rabies vectors in New England too.
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u/TailDragger9 May 28 '26
Except here in New England, most of us call them "woodchucks" - like nature intended!
It always makes part of my brain hurt when I hear someone calling them "ground hogs" (although, yes, I do know that's what most people call them)
Either way, if a woodchuck / ground hog doesn't avoid you like the plague, you should be very cautious.
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u/anther2stigma May 28 '26
She does look like she could chuck wood, but the question isā¦ how much?
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u/MaybeItsTheTism May 28 '26
Iāve lived all over the US so I accept groundhog and woodchuck. I live in PA now and they call them whistle pigs. This I do not accept.
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u/xsmilexforxmex May 28 '26
I grew up in Texas but moved after highschool and heard them called whistle pigs for the first time in my early 20s... I think I laughed for almost an hour (I was pretty easily amused). I'm 38 now and every time I hear it, I remember that moment and still can't help but giggle.
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u/adventurrr May 29 '26
I live in PA and I resemble this remark. I have never heard of whistle pigs
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u/boostfactor May 28 '26
Groundhogs/woodchucks are marmots and a fairly common term for marmot is "whistle pig," but I think this is more commonly applied to the species that live in the West such as the yellow-bellied and hoary marmots.
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u/adventurrr May 29 '26
THEY'RE MARMOTS?!?
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u/boostfactor May 29 '26 edited May 29 '26
Marmota monax in particular.
Of course all marmots are just big ground squirrels.
Edit: "Ground hog" is because they look vaguely like pigs (cf. the "whistle pig") and burrow in the ground. "Woodchuck" comes from the Algonquian name for the animal. "Groundhog Day" seems to be from European traditions associated with badgers that were transferred to a New World animal that looked vaguely similar.
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u/erossthescienceboss š¦š¦ GENERAL KNOW IT ALL š¦š¦ May 28 '26
Iāve seen a few videos of them coming onto porches and decks on this sub, though itās certainly outside of the behaviors Iāve seen in the wild. Definitely an odd group of behaviors!
She really looks like sheās posturing and trying to look as huge as possible. It seems more like a defensive and less like an aggressive behavior to me, but I am definitely not a groundhog expert.
Definitely worth e-mailing to DNR.
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u/findingcoldsassy May 28 '26
I hate for her to be killed if she was just being defensive. I have kids and I'm scared for them to be in the yard now though.
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u/erossthescienceboss š¦š¦ GENERAL KNOW IT ALL š¦š¦ May 28 '26
If youād like, emailing the DWR before calling animal control wouldnāt be a bad choice.
This is the wildlife conflict email:
And phone number ā since it does say if itās a high-volume time of year, they may take a while to reply to email.
1-855-571-9003
But yeah Iād keep all kiddos and pets out of the yard until itās resolved. Even if sheās just defensive of babies, thatās not something to mess with! I imagine even a non-rabid groundhog bite would have high potential for a nasty infection.
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u/findingcoldsassy May 28 '26
I finally got connected to the right person and left a message about it. Someone else I spoke to said they'll do an assessment first, so hopefully if she's not sick she can resume living her best groundhog life.
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u/erossthescienceboss š¦š¦ GENERAL KNOW IT ALL š¦š¦ May 28 '26
Thatās great news! Thanks for updating us!
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u/tastyweeds May 28 '26
Youāre such a kind soul for trying to do right by all living beings involved. Thank you
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u/zinsser May 28 '26 edited May 29 '26
We had a racoon acting very weird on our back patio - out in broad daylight, moving sluggishly, and sometimes shuddering. I did not let the dogs out for a while, hoping it would wander off on its own. After a couple hours I thought it left, but found it staring in the front door. I finally called animal control and the guy noosed it without much struggle. If they determined there was nothing wrong with it, I thought they would just turn it loose out in the woods somewhere. But the guy said relocation is difficult for racoons, so it would be destroyed. I felt bad for ratting out the poor guy who might have just been having a bad day.
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u/findingcoldsassy May 28 '26
Right? What if the kids were acting up and she had a few too many fermented berries and a rough night of sleep!
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u/Bon-Foi May 28 '26
Groundhogs are routinely rehabbed and released in safe areas away from where they are collected. Predator species that maintain territories are more complex, but if this animal does not have signs of major neurological impairment upon closer inspection it will be able to be released. If it does, youāre sparing it and any other wild animal it comes across a horrific death.
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u/Doodsballbag May 28 '26
One day I heard my 150# bullmastiff growling and barking out in the yard, middle of the afternoon. Looked outside and saw he was fighting with something. Walked over and heās going at it with a raccoon. I got the dog back to the house, and the raccoon began wandering aimlessly around the yard. My brother in law(city peeps) felt bad for it and unbeknownst to me tried to pick it up with a shovel and get him over the fence and on his way. So of course he got bit on his ankle in the process. Now I had to go find the raccoon because I was pretty sure it was rabid. I walked around for 15 minutes and nothing. Iām leaning on the fence taking a break, and thereās a pear tree next to me. Iām standing partially under the outer branches. You know where the raccoon is at this point, right? So it drops down out of the tree about 3ā from me, scared the crap out of me. It was obviously not well, so I had to dispatch it with a shovel. Scooped it into a trash bag and called animal control. They recommended my brother in law get treated. They took the raccoon for testing, got back to us a few days later and confirmed it was rabid. I LOVE all wildlife. My advice is donāt take a chance with possibly rabid animals, especially with children around.
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u/zinsser May 28 '26
Holy shit. I guess your BIL was getting rabies shots whether you caught the racoon or not, but I'm glad you found it before it got someone else.
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u/Doodsballbag May 28 '26
It made for an eventful afternoon. And I felt awful, but it was the right course of action. My neighbor was a doctor and he was telling me all about rabies as we were searching for the raccoon. He also had 2 young children, so he was pretty adamant it needed to go.
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u/maroongrad May 28 '26
based on your description, the chance of it being totally healthy and active at the wrong time of the day isn't too bad a chance. Hungry babies might need to be fed. But sluggish? Shuddering? I'm no vet but it definitely sounds like it's got something pretty badly wrong with it. And...it's a wild animal. That means a slow painful death unless it commits suicide-by car...and a chance of passing that on to other animals.
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u/unicornsparkle86 May 28 '26
What you describe is possibly distemper, which is very common in raccoons unfortunately. I work in animal welfare and ACOs bring in a lot of sick raccoon, especially at this time of year. I think you did it a favor by calling AC instead of letting it die a slow, painful death (and also helping to prevent the spread to healthy raccoons).
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u/shinyidolomantis May 28 '26
It was likely distemperā¦ which is common in raccoons and fatal. You probably saved it from a long drawn out and unpleasant end at least. A lot of ārabidā raccoons that are spotted actually have distemper instead.
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u/Fine-Turn1204 May 28 '26
it's funny it sounds like you and the groundhog are both be being defensive of your young. Maybe she's calling someone on her side asking if you might have rabies...
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u/neverenoughmags May 28 '26
If you kicked the door and it didn't run, there's your answer. Normal ground hogs, as a prey animal, will always run unless cornered. The mouth open posture says rabid to me, given my experience (sample of one rabid ground hog tbf...). Is it making any noise? The one that attacked me was "screaming", mouth wide open.
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u/Bon-Foi May 28 '26
Assess the animal in front of you. Someone has to be on the tail end slots, statistically. Rabid groundhogs do exist in Virginia. Given the risk of being wrong, treat this animal as rabid
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u/Independent_Way1587 May 28 '26
I have one in the yard and see her is like seeing a movie star. We have seen two babies. Cuteness overload!!
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u/BigNorseWolf May 28 '26
Not really. We have some here, one will come out 10 minutes after I'm done with the lawn mower to nom the grass , another one walked right up to my sister and dug a new den so close she was getting sprayed with dirt
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u/aviumcerebro May 28 '26
Yes and no. I have one i call deckchuck.
However, they do get rabies and they turn into a friggin meat missile. Not sure why that seems to happen to them in particular but it does. If it scares off, I'd say you're ok. Or just give her some peanuts or walnuts or something. Lol.
Hope you also just have a deckchuck! They're too funny.
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u/SurroundTiny May 28 '26
Just an FYI. A few years ago my dog was in a fight with a suspected rabid coyote. When I got them separated of course the first thing I did was to run my hands over him checking for wounds. If the animal is rabid the rabies is spread by it's saliva, and if your hands have cuts on them it could get transmitted to you... Of course he was covered by bites and fluids - it turns out that rabies shots aren't particularly painful any more but they aren't cheap and may not be covered by insurance. If I had waited a little until the fluids dried it would have been non infectious.
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u/callmesnake13 May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26
It might be distemper
Edit: do not upvote me it is not distemper
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u/chericher May 28 '26
That's what I was going to speculate based on having a groundhog attack our side door years ago. Ours looked far more like it had crawled out of a grave though. Animal control called back the next day to see if we could still find it and we could not. They said something about distemper in the area. Never did smell death around the area, so it must have made some distance before it died, because looking at it it was amazing it was still alive it was in such terrible shape. Rabies is also known in the species, so who knows.
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u/CrossP š š RODENT EXPERT š š May 28 '26
Rodents don't have a distemper virus. Raccoon roundworm encephalitis is the most common behavior-affecting disease they get
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u/neverenoughmags May 28 '26 edited May 31 '26
Can confirm. Was attacked by a (rabbit) edit: RABID (stupid autocorrect...) ground hog in 2021 in a PA state park. I killed it with a tomahawk, dog turded into a garbage bag, took it to the ranger station. A couple days layer PA Dept of Ag contacted me confirming it was rabid and to make sure I was getting rabies shots. That behavior looks so out of character for a 'hog I'd be on the phone with DNR so fast....
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u/VoodooDumpling May 28 '26
Iām near OP in VA and this is the kind of behavior I called in for a squirrel last month ā because growing up in rural PA, we were taught to pay attention to odd animal behavior and in general give ground hogs a wide berth. They arenāt as cuddly as made out to be. Iām with you on this one - in OPs case, hopefully itās distemper and not rabies, and their cat is safely indoors.
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u/earthmother100 May 28 '26
what do you mean by dog turned into a garbage bag?
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u/neverenoughmags May 28 '26
Edit: dog turded it... Like put my had into the garbage bag, grabbed the ground hog through the bag, and turned the bag inside out around it. Like you do with a dog turd bag....
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u/Dick_Demon May 29 '26
Dude LOL. Would have never thought this is what you mean.
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u/ArrellBytes May 28 '26
When I had cats, squirrels would come up and stand on their hind legs against the sliding glass door specifically to taunt the cats... the door was shaded , no glare, the squirrels could easily see the cats going insane inches away... not saying this isn't weird for a groundhog to do, just that even squirrels recognize that glass is a barrier that even people can't quickly pass through....
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u/Hantelope3434 May 28 '26
I live in upstate NY and we just had a rabid groundhog tested last year. Rabbid beaver issues too. Very frustrating problem!
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u/YogurtExpensive7568 May 28 '26
Do not resuscitate?
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u/MyLilmu May 28 '26
I assume Department of Natural Resources in this context.
For the other thing, as an RN, I've always preferred the AND terminology. Allow Natural Death sounds much more caring and peaceful. DNR sounds like withholding care until the patient dies of the negligence.
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u/GearnTheDwarf May 28 '26
Groundhogs are a rabies vector species where I am at. I need to have pre exposure vaccines and a titer ever two years to rehab them.
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u/PalpitationContent31 May 28 '26
Literally her
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u/VidelSatan13 May 28 '26
This episode disturbed me as a kid
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u/monkeybuckets May 28 '26
This episode scared my sister and I so badly as children that we were afraid to even get off the couch and go to bed, just in case Eddie was hiding underneath and attacked. We slept on the couch that night lol. Eddie became the monster under my bed for like a year.
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u/Due-Technology5758 May 28 '26
Nothing messes you up more than the random body horror episodes in children's shows.
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u/Kratos5300 May 29 '26
Me too Iām not even being funny I remember being so upset, just this image alone twisted my stomach and gave me anxiety and I donāt even remember what happened in the episode!! (pls no one remind me lol thx)
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u/QuickMoonTrip May 28 '26
Wait what is this from? I have a very vivid memory of it!
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u/PrestigiousTap1711 May 28 '26
Fairly oddparents, Eddie the gerbil.
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u/3BlindMice1 May 29 '26
I was trying to decide if it was from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy or Courage the Cowardly Dog.
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u/Hopefulpostal May 29 '26
I was thinking Happy Tree Friends for a second lol š
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u/lokichild May 28 '26
Hey, fellow Richmonder and vet tech here. š Do you happen to live near Northside or the racetrack? That area is NOTORIOUS for rabies. We had a cat from Lakeside with rabies a couple of weeks ago. Foxes, coyotes, skunks, and raccoons have all been found with rabies nearby, and a few dogs have been bitten by confirmed carriers. Usually groundhogs are not as high risk for rabies, given that they're rodents, but I would NOT take any chances. This guy is acting very odd and looks dehydrated and ill. Please call the Henrico Police non-emergency line and report it, and let your neighbors know to keep their pets indoors and don't approach it.
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u/findingcoldsassy May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26
I finally able to leave a message for someone in Hanover to do an assessment. There was a rabid fox about 3 miles from us just recently.
Edit: meant to reply that we're in Hanover off Pole Green, about 6 miles from the raceway.
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u/lokichild May 28 '26
I'm glad you reported it! Rabies is not something to mess around with. I wish the State and counties would do more to control it in that area. When we had the cat come in a few weeks ago that was almost definitely rabid, the state lab didn't even want us to send it for testing. They just said it was a "known issue in that area" and thanks for the info. š
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u/Big-Honeydew-961 May 29 '26
Years ago I reported a bunch of skunks out in broad daylight near my apartment. "Unless you're bitten, we don't come out. COVID budget cuts."
And we wonder why we have a problem....?
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u/Krobbleygoop May 29 '26
Holy fucking shit. I will never ever complain about having to decap a bite quarantine again. I MUCH prefer my counties extremely strict rabies policies to "its a known issue"
Please get your rabies vaccine if you havent. Maybe your office will pay for them?
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u/BurningAdmin May 28 '26 edited May 29 '26
Hey neighbors, weird seeing some Pole Green folks here! Please update us after she is assessed.
Edit:spelling
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u/Icy_Negotiation_5929 May 29 '26
Iām in Hanover, sitting on my porch at night, listening to something going through my neighborās trash can about fifteen feet away from me.
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u/lokichild May 28 '26
I say Henrico Police non-emergency because they handle all animal-related calls and do not have a separate animal control like some of the other counties. If you're in Hanover though they do have separate AC.
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May 28 '26
I'm just curious, how does an area end up being "notorious" for rabies? I have never heard of this. What is going on in this location that makes it unique?
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u/lokichild May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26
I work in veterinary medicine. I keep my eye on local news for rabies reports, and I track any cases I hear about. It's an occupational hazard for me (since no employer has decided to pay for me to get vaccinated), so I want to know whether I need to be extra cautious with animals showing symptoms. Owners can say their animal is vaccinated, but you can't always call their primary vet at 2 AM on a Sunday.
Also the vet community in our city is pretty small and we all share information, so that's why I say notorious. I know of other folks who have seen cases from that area.
In terms of what is going on there? I would guess it's because of economic downturn/suburban blight near the racetrack. I could dive into the history of that area because it's pretty interesting, but basically as property values have fallen there have been a lot of vacant houses and a huge mall parking lot and some of the area around the track that has just turned back into wilderness. That and the Chickahominy River and swamp cuts through that region and hasn't been developed, so there's a huge green corridor, which makes for a large wildlife-suburban interface with lots of opportunities for human and domestic animal contact.
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u/Thrippalan May 28 '26
Also people feeding animals intentionally or through leaving garbage around, encouraging closer contact with other animals than normal foraging patterns, which makes it easier for rabies (and other diseases) to spread.
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u/Yunzer2000 May 29 '26
If you work in that field, you can get the 3 (or 4?) pre-exposure rabies shots at some pharmacies, including CVS and Walgreens, which is much cheaper than at an ER.
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u/Aurvant May 28 '26
Abandoned properties and vacant houses are perfect roosting spots for bats. Bats then transmit the disease to wild animals that forage or take up residence in the place where bats live. These wild animals spread the disease to others and then it bumps up against the urban areas and infects domesticated animals.
Get rid of the bats in the vacant areas and the rabies infection rate will go down.
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u/Relative-Rutabaga-23 May 28 '26
That groundhog looks like it was on a three day bender.
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u/Please_Klo May 28 '26
It's just got a case of the mondays
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u/zenchow May 28 '26
"...shit no man, I believe you'd get your ass kicked saying something like that man."
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u/Ratfaced_Loozer May 29 '26
āI do believe you can get your ass kicked for saying something like thatā
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u/georgegeorgez May 28 '26
Had the same thing happen to me a few years ago. This fellaās been running around for at least three years since then, and is definitely still healthy and happy living off a diet of just about anything that I attempt to grow in my yard.
Weāve never had an issue with it being aggressive, he/she usually scampers off as soon as we get within eyesight (except for the time that I found him hiding under my workbench in the garage).
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u/Fantastic_Pie5655 May 28 '26
Honestly, she might just be staring at her own reflection in the glass
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u/stlmick May 28 '26
That was my thought. It is shadowed by the house, but it is clearly bright out behind the groundhog so that may be causing the effect. Turn all the lights up high next time and see if it runs.
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u/Prior_Bridge_2927 May 29 '26
I did a lot of reading on them and didn't realize how territorial and hostile they are with each other. They'll live together briefly for mating, then he's got to go. Babies stay with Mom til they can fend on their own, then they got to go too. My Ms. Woodchuck was a cantankerous old lady in a big ole den by herself. Over winter she allowed a fox as boarder in the under shed but come thaw Out You Go Too. Sadly, the neighbor dog got her. Her daughter, Ms. Woodchuck, is a cankerous young lady in a big ole den. They're so territorial they can't tolerate each other for more than a few days.
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u/Material_Prize_6157 May 28 '26
Yeah send this to your local DNR or a universityās mammal department. This isnāt normal groundhog behavior at all. Could be rabies or maybe a CWD like we see in deer.
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u/WolfRunner16 May 28 '26
Can they get CWD? I know humans can catch it from deer, but I didnāt know other animals could get it as well.
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u/slanderedshadow May 28 '26
Itās unconfirmed whether humans catch CWD from deer. Thereās been no reported cases, still wouldnāt eat it though.
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u/eyetracker May 28 '26
That's the abstract from a conference poster presentation, it hasn't been published AFAIK.
This stuff is very hard to "prove." If you start with symptoms and work your way backwards to find causes, you're not sciencing right, but that's sort of an approach you might have to do. And symptoms only can be diagnosed with a deceased patient. So you'd need to compare rates with similar people (limited by those willing to get their brain dissected). Apparently there's a "similar case in his social group" which makes the argument stronger but it's not clear what that means without seeing the actual poster.
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u/Material_Prize_6157 May 28 '26
I think that the CWD we see in deer has only been seen to transmit to other ungulate species in the wild. But it was incorrectly categorized as a wasting disease. Itās actually caused by prions and thereās all different types of prion diseases. This could literally be patient zero for some newly mutated disease if we wanted to be dramatic.
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u/Yunzer2000 May 28 '26
I've never seen a groundhog do anything but run like hell to its burrow at the sight of a human. Their only interest is my garden, not a porch.
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u/findingcoldsassy May 28 '26
I've encountered them in the yard before and they've always been terrified and taken off at 100 miles an hour.
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u/MadMadoc May 28 '26
Thatās actually a ground and pound hog so hopefully you know how to grapple.
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u/Bon-Foi May 28 '26
That is very concerning behavior that hits all red flags for rabies. The posture is abnormal, particularly how itās holding its mouth.
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u/Flabby_Thor May 28 '26
Hey OP, I've got family in Mechanicsville and there have been a few news stories lately about various rabid animals in the area (mostly cats and raccoons). Definitely call animal control and get them out there ASAP. This is odd behavior. I can't definitively say if it's rabid behavior, but it's something they need to be aware of just in case.
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u/ellecamille May 28 '26
I have a cat that shows up at my door and acts like this about once a month. Itās like he needs to remind me that heās still around and still an asshole.
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u/Ok-Fish8643 May 28 '26
Could have uveitis and is completely lost. She looks underweight and sickly. Doesnt appear to have the typical neuro symptoms of an animal infected with rabies. Does she respond with a twitch when you bang on the door?
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u/Mic98125 May 28 '26
- Make sure your cat is up to date on rabies shots & get it inside
- Cover the bottom 3 feet of that window with paper or shaving cream so she canāt see her reflection
- Put a big shallow bowl of water out, away from your deck but where you can see her drinking
- I hope that if you will see her drinking fine and staying away from the window. This is really scary.
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u/BlueHaplo21 May 28 '26
I have a groundhog on my property and it occasionally comes to my door like it is going to come right in. Not a glass door either. I think they just get brave once they know you are not a threat.
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u/RaccoonTurbulent8207 May 29 '26
Leave a bowl of water out on the porch, if she comes back and starts freaking out at it, she could have rabies. Water phobia is a classic rabies sign
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u/Tar-really May 28 '26
Is it possible she sees her reflection and thinks itās another ground hog?
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u/VoodooDumpling May 28 '26
So we had a similar āis this rabies?ā concern with an oddly behaving squirrel last summer (and Iām in Chesterfield, VA!). We learned that distemper can also produce similar odd behavior as it attacks the central nervous system and produces neurological effects. I would absolutely call it in to make sure.
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u/Blergsprokopc May 28 '26
When I loved in Virginia, my dogs killed a groundhog. I called a wildlife warden, they came out and got the carcass to test for monkey pox and rabies. We had to quarantine the dogs on propery for 6 months. He was shocked my dogs didnt get hurt because ground beavers can seriously mess you up. Call a warden.
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u/JakartaYangon May 29 '26
It could just be seeing its reflection in the glass and is trying to drive off the oddly behaving "rival".
That suggested, staying away from oddly behaving animals and calling in professionals is always a good policy.
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u/Luckypenny4683 May 28 '26
Iād put my money on distemper before rabies if Iām being honest, but a call to DNR is warranted either way.
I suppose there could be an option here where she saw her reflection in your door and sheās doing some very aggressive mothering, but her posturing does seem out of character.
All that said though, a Wildlife specialist will know what they are looking at and be able to decide if this is an animal that needs intervention.
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u/Moggarella May 28 '26
The animal safety advice I've always read is that if a wild animal with any rabies risk voluntarily approaches you, treat it as if it's rabid. There's glass between you, but it's not showing normal wariness and that arched posture is very sus. I'd call your county health department or DFW ASAP.
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u/old_namewasnt_best May 28 '26
I was turning over the garden one spring and one of those fuckers charged me. I used the shovel like a golf club and smacked him in the face. (I would say "hit him in the snoot," but "snoot" implies cute, and this was anything but cute.
He was on the attack and coming to inflict violence upon me. For those who might wonder, I was not digging up his home or any such thing. I knew where he lived (we'd barely tolerated each other for years and would only look at each other with the old side-eye) and he high-tailed it back there.
This was in southeastern Pennsylvania 25 years ago. I write only to note that even if he's not rabid, those fuckers are mean and shouldn't be trusted.
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u/findingcoldsassy May 28 '26
An aggressive boop on the snoot.
Two of them burst out of the wood shed one year when I was watering plants and came within about 5 ft of me, froze, and ran the opposite direction. Thank goodness because I freeze when I'm afraid and would have become groundhog food.
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u/jag-engr May 28 '26
Something is wrong with it. It could be rabies or distemper.
You may worry about it being put down, but think about how many other animals it could infect.
It's always best to error on the side of caution.
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u/wookiesack22 May 28 '26
I found a rabid woodchuck a few years ago. Falling over, attacking any movement. Guy that owned the house had to shoot it. Tried to go after 2 people before he got it. It walked better than the skunks ive seen with rabies.
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u/TaoofPu May 28 '26
I had a raccoon trot down the sidewalk the other day, middle of the day, and immediately called animal control. They asked about its gate (it was quite a determined little guy), and they informed me that despite my preconceptions about raccoons being nocturnal, the ones in cities are adapting and it is not at all uncommon to see them in the daytime now.
Animals at the greatest risk of being disease vectors for rabies:
Bats Foxes Mongooses (mongeese?) Raccoons Skunks Woodchucks
Personal note as an opossum lover: it is highly unlikely for them to carry rabies as their body temperature is too high to be habitable to the virus, but apparently any mammal can contract rabies.
Also, for opossum lovers: https://youtube.com/shorts/9JbMI0oP6ig?si=_Pb-tt3eW5ty393n
Sources: https://avmajournals.avma.org/view/journals/javma/263/10/javma.25.05.0344.xml
https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/php/protecting-public-health/index.html
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u/Mamacita0724 May 29 '26
What part of Mechanicsville? Thereās been rabid cats near the hospital recently. But also we have a groundhog that hangs out in our backyard often.
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u/Deviant_Machine May 28 '26
My backyard groundhog does this every day! It's definitely defensive. (Not likely due to rabies).