BY KAREN BOSSICK

Sun Valley-area residents have learned to be on guard for mountain lions and black bears. But it was a racoon that attacked an infant in his home in Cassia County.

Idaho Fish and Game officers received a report from the Cassia County Sheriff that an infant had been attacked and injured by a racoon in his parents’ home on the evening of Dec. 23. The infant was determined to be in an infant carrier while the mother was settling in after returning home.

She heard a loud noise where she had left the infant and, upon running to the infant’s side, found the raccoon attacking the baby. She was able to grab the animal to stop the attack.

Later, the infant’s father and a sheriff’s deputy found the raccoon in the home and killed it. No other raccoons were found in the home.

The infant was taken by the parents to Cassia Regional Hospital in Burley for treatment of undisclosed injuries. It was transferred to a hospital in Salt Lake City.

Fish and Game officers coordinated with South Central Public Health district to get the raccoon carcass treated for rabies. The Idaho Bureau of Laboratories in Boise concluded that the rabies test was negative.

Raccoons are a common species across Idaho, but reports of attacks on humans are extremely rare, said Terry Thompson, regional communications manager for Idaho Fish and Game Magic Valley Region.  Thompson added that only one case of raccoon rabies has ever been documented in Idaho.

Raccoons are generally shy and will typically avoid humans, he added, but they can become aggressive if they feel threatened.

As with other wildlife, a homeowner can limit close encounters with raccoons by securing residential garbage, removing fallen fruit from the yard, feeding pets indoors, keeping pet food stored and removing or securing bird feeders. Blocking raccoon access to hiding places in sheds and outbuildings and sealing off potential entry ways in and around a home will also discourage visitations by raccoons.