Raccoon bites LBK visitor twice
MELISSA REID
Associate Publisher
mreid@lbknews.com
Cara Richard of Ohio did not know that a simple outing on the beach during her Longboat Key vacation would end in a trip to the emergency room.
At a condominium along Gulf of Mexico Drive, Richard was bitten by a raccoon while showering off with her infant in the boardwalk showers.
When Longboat Key Police arrived, Richard had already been driven to the Sarasota Memorial Hospital in a personal vehicle, however her brother-in-law described what happened to Longboat Key Police.
According to the Longboat Key Police report, Richard’s brother-in-law stated that Richard and her infant had come from the beach using the boardwalk bridge behind the condominium’s building number eight. He stated she was using the outdoor shower when the raccoon came from under the boardwalk, or somewhere nearby, and bit her on the leg. He then stated that she kicked the raccoon away, but it came after her a second time. He said the raccoon then ran into the surrounding sea grapes.
Richard’s brother-in-law said the incident occurred at approximately 7:45 p.m. He and others looked everywhere but could not locate the raccoon. He saw that Richard had two puncture wounds to her right leg.
According to the police report, two Longboat officers canvassed the area including areas under the bridge but did not locate any raccoons. Longboat Key Police dispatch contacted Sarasota Animal Control, and they advised they would set traps in the area.
When Longboat Key News contacted Sarasota County Animal Control, a representative confirmed that no raccoons were located, and since raccoons are unidentifiable, this makes it difficult to find, trap and test the animal for rabies.
Animal Control stated that if the animal were caught, it is then up to the Health Department to follow up on testing the animal for rabies. If the animal is not caught, it is up to the bite victim and his or her healthcare provider whether to take precautionary measures against rabies, such as receiving the rabies shots.
Richard could not be reached for comment.
Residents such as Weldon Frost have expressed concern over the rampant raccoon population on Longboat Key. Frost went before the Town Commission to try and discuss the overpopulation of raccoons. He thought the town should do something to try to control the raccoon population, lest there be some type of injury resulting in lawsuits.
However the town maintained that it was the homeowner associations’ responsibility to hire someone to trap the animals.
“We have a raccoon over-population problem here,” said Frost, “We don’t need raccoons any more than we need rattlesnakes.”
I attended the commission meeting where Mr. Frost, a responsible and concerned citizen , took his time out to alert the town leaders about the problem with the racoons. Instead of showing appreciation for his efforts, Mr. Frost was ridiculed and one commissioner jokingly suggested that they supply condoms for the racoons. Just another outrageous display of arrogance and ignorance that may involve yet another lawsuit, that sadly could have been avoided. Mr. Frost should have suggested an alternative use for the condoms.
We spent lot of time on LBK years ago when our adult children were little and they used to love it when we would drive to the parking lot of Euphemia Haye at night and there would be a surprising amount of racoons hanging on the dumpster in the parking lot. They enjoyed seeing all those pesky varmints. I always figured they were the best fed racoons in North America.
[...] to the emergency room – are you prepared? Posted in category: Insurance at: August 2, 2011 by A visitor to Longboat Key, near Sarasota, Florida, was recently bitten by a raccoon twiceon the leg while showering beach sand off herself and her infant. The Ohio woman kicked the raccoon [...]
This one particular raccoon was likely rabid, and I hope that our bitten woman did get a rabies shot.
An “over population” of raccoons comes about because an over abundance of their food supply. If the dumpster had a closed lid on it, and if locals didn’t feed the raccoons, there numbers would naturally diminish. They wouldn’t starve to death for lack of food from humans — they’d just disperse into new territories.
From Don Giovanni, to Harry’s Continental Kitchen, to Euphemia Haye, there is a raccoon gourmet food festival nightly. But for humans to sample these wares for free, please attend the Gourmet Lawn Party (formerly St. Judes) this November 19th at the Islandside Golf Driving Range of the LBK Club. Over two dozen restaurants will offer samples of signature dishes – all you can eat for $25, raccoons uninvited.