The calming sounds of Clear Creek running through the Greenbelt provided no warning that there was something wrong, but indeed there was.
A raccoon was lying face down along the creek bank. Half his body on land and the other half saturated by the creek’s cold water.
“Poor guy,” said Jennifer Barbagiovanni, community services officer with the Wheat Ridge Police Department. “I have to get to him.”
He was another victim of the disease that has plagued the raccoon population along the Greenbelt in Wheat Ridge. Cases of canine distemper virus, or CDV, have recently taken a stronghold on the species. The community services team is responding to an average of four to six calls per week regarding encounters with raccoons infected with distemper. “The more the population increases the more it will spread,” she said.
Barbagiovanni descended an embankment of large, loose rock as she carefully examined each face to establish her next stepping point. Once she cleared the rock, she came to a wall of overgrown brush that attempted to stonewall her efforts. The creek dwellers stood firm with the rigidity of steel as she squirmed through tiny gaps in their structure. She pushed them away and they began to push back. She began to question whether or not she would end up face down in the creek along with the dead raccoon.
“This has to be distemper,” she said. “There are no signs of physical trauma, and he’s not very old.”
Curious walkers turned their heads to observe her movements as they headed toward Prospect Park. She opened a large, black garbage bag and slipped him into the plastic coffin.
She turned to the creek dwellers once again and fought her way through to the rocky slope that carried her to his side. She loaded the raccoon in her truck and continued on along the Greenbelt looking for more victims of the neurological virus.
“It has been steady all winter,” she said, “but we seem to be getting more now.”
The virus attacks every aspect of the raccoon’s existence and is highly contagious to other carnivorous animals such as skunks, foxes, coyotes and domestic animals. Distemper is passed through airborne droplets and direct contact with bodily fluids, such as saliva or raccoon droppings. Infected animals display symptoms of ocular and nasal secretions, disorientation, lack of coordination, weight loss, and unnatural behavior such as a nocturnal animal, like the raccoon, being active during the daytime.
The Wheat Ridge Police Department and Colorado Division of Wildlife are urging residents to take extra precautions with their pets by keeping them on leashes at all times and having them vaccinated for distemper.
While there are no distemper dangers to humans, it is extremely important not to approach an animal that shows any of these symptoms.
If you have any encounters with raccoons displaying the symptoms or find raccoon carcasses contact the Wheat Ridge Community Services Team at 303-237-2220.