Urban Wildlife, Part 2

Urban wildlife: they are wild and they are in your city. But does that mean that you or your loved ones are in danger of contracting the dreaded disease called rabies? Statistically, no. How is it then that articles like “Raccoon inundation a community problem,” that appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle on July 30, 2008, are allowed to be published in mainstream media without some fact checking or at least an alternative view?

According to the Center for Citizen Media, the principles of and core values of responsible journalism are: accuracy, thoroughness, fairness, transparency, and independence. The author of the above-mentioned article failed at accuracy and fairness, possibly because she only relied on a “vector control” officer for her source of information. Media democracy dictates that I put the record straight. As a former veterinary technician, long-time wildlife rehabilitator, humane educator, and media karma-inducer, let me tell you about vector control officers. Their job is to keep humans safe by controlling critters that that can or might spread germs (Wikipedia). Of course, people are vectors too! Duh.

Historically, the most common and serious known vector is mosquitoes. Think West Nile Virus and malaria. Vector control officers often consider wildlife “pests,” and many county job postings call for vector control officers to have had “pest control” experience. They are exterminators. They do not relocate wildlife. They shoot first, ask questions later.

In order to work with wildlife in the State of California, the Department of Fish and Game requires rehabilitators to take at least one professionally recognized course per year. One such class is on zooneses, diseases that are transmitted from animals to humans (who are also animals). Rabies is considered a zoonotic disease, and raccoons and skunks can be vectors for it. Rabies is spread through the saliva of an infected animal; saliva that enters the bloodstream from bites. According to the Centers for Disease Control, “The number of rabies-related human deaths in the United States has declined from more than 100 annually at the turn of the century to one or two per year in the 1990s.” With a total U.S. population of 305 million people, one or two a year is statistically nil. You have a greater chance of being hit by lightning.

In a map depicting the locations of animal rabies in the State of California in 2007, most cases were bats, and only one raccoon. There were no cases of squirrel rabies. The California Department of Health’s Report on Animal Rabies by County and Species for years 1997-2006 shows not a single case of rabies in squirrels, only three in raccoons, and six cases in humans (mostly from bats and skunks).

Dr. John Pitts, a veterinarian who teaches courses nationwide for teachers, said that biologists, health officials, and veterinarians do not consider squirrels a vector for rabies. Why? Because they are prey animals, low on the food chain. They are eaten by other animals like foxes, coyotes, wild cats, hawks, owls, and snakes. Squirrels are "dead-end hosts," meaning that the rabid animal kills the squirrel before the virus has a chance to infect it. Simply put, small rodents get eaten immediately, as in dead.

My next post will discuss other sad, absurd, or fun-filled and freaky stories about people’s interactions with animals. Stay tuned.

Hawk eating squirrel. Image from google images.