Possibly Rabid Animal Bites Walmart Shoppers In Rhode Island

boston.cbslocal.com ^ | 07/06/2016

[BenLurkin]

At least two people were reportedly bitten by a small black mammal that might have been a ferret, mink or weasel, according to authorities. Those two people have not yet come forward to seek medical attention.

The animal was not tested, and the concern is that it might have been rabid. Rabies is fatal in humans and animals once symptoms appear, according to the health officials.

[Iron head mike]

Should stay out of the mink/ferret/weasel isle!

[Vigilanteman]

Four legged or two legged?

[DannyTN]

How do you distinguish it from the other walmart shoppers?

[Gamecock]

Oh that’s fatal, you don’t want that!

_____________________________________________________

Seriously, nothing to see here. Get the rabies prophylaxis and move on with your life.

[2nd Amendment]

small black mammal lives matter!

[Admin Moderator]

Anyone seen Ralph’s spork-weasel?

[HarleyLady27]

There are a lot of ‘rats’ in that area, wouldn’t surprise me any...you find a lot of ‘rats’ in the Eastern Part of the United States especially around the D.C. area..........

[BuffaloJack]

Unlikely to get rabies from a mink, ferret or weasel. According to the DEC only nine cases in a ten year period compared to 175,000 documented cases in raccoons and foxes.
Since mink feed primarily on fish and waterfowl, it even less likely for these critters than weasels and ferrets.

[SaveFerris]

Not shot; dog bite.

Not bang-bang; wolf-wolf!

[jacknhoo]

Probably a Fisher Cat.

[rawcatslyentist]

Probably a ferret. Them things bite. It's just what they do. More than likely not rabid. In a MartLaw? In the city?

Snowflakes!

[USMCPOP]

[Gamecock]

At least it wasn’t a nutria that bit her!

[Smittie]

My sister got bit by a moose!

[heartwood]

I expect minks and weasels get rabies much more often than is recorded - they are small, elusive, unadapted to human presence, and die discreetly and unnoticed. What they eat probably matters less than whether they encounter a rabid fox or raccoon - fox and raccoon prey animals don’t typically carry rabies either.

My husband and I saw the first mink (or weasel of any kind) we had ever seen last week, running across a road. But we see raccoons and foxes frequently. Two years ago a small rabid raccoon walked right up to our dog and bit her, and then bit our daughter when she rescued the dog.

[headstamp 2]

This is blatant profiling.

[Cementjungle]

Hmmm..my daughter lives in Westerly... I wonder if her blavk cat got loose.