Re: OT:possums and rabies

From: Denise Stewart <stewartd@proaxis.com>

Hi All, will I had a run in with a rabie carrying  possum while I lived in
So. Calif, lucky it did not any of us, but boy did we watch and the Humane
Society out to check it out and sure enough it did have rabies so, I for
one watch out for them...
Denise Now in OR...

At 01:28 PM 9/6/98 -0700, you wrote:
>From: "Donald Eaves" <donald@eastland.net>
>
>
>Dennis writes:
>> 
>> They have been found in Calif to carry rabies, they are on the
>> state list of carriers.
>> 
>From The National Opossum Society http://www.teleport.com/~opossums/
>
>"Opossums are more resistant to rabies than any other mammal; cattle,
>goats,
>dogs, cats, sheep, and the ice cream man are far more susceptable to
>rabies."
>
>My earlier info (several years ago now) was obtained from the Texas Dept.
>of
>Health which tracks verified cases of rabies in wild and domestic animals. 
>They
>had none on record at the time as verified in opossums.  At the time, Texas
>was
>having a major rabies outbreak which was spreading.  Two neighboring
>counties
>next to mine had bobcat attacks on people, both rabid animals; both causing
>severe injuries.  The grey fox was suffering in great numbers and was
>attributed
>with being the major carrier causing the spread of rabies in our state. 
>There was
>and is still an effort in our state to control the northward movement of
>the epidemic.
>Since I live in a rural area with much natural wildlife visiting daily in
>my yard, it
>behooved me to try to obtain realistic information so I could take a
>rational approach
>to the situation.  This was even more pressing since at the time I had a
>family of
>grey fox with pups actually spending time in my yard.  The conclusion of
>the research
>was quite simply that opossums posed, by far, the least danger in spreading
>or
>carrying rabies.
>
>Not only that, they don't bother the irises at all, whereas the racoons
>occasionally
>dump potted plants (this year some of the Walter methods) and armadillos on
>
>regular occasions totally root up plants.
>
>Donald Eaves - I must apologize for the above.  I will lurk for the next
>month as a
>pennance!
>donald@eastland.net
>Texas Zone 7 
>
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