Numerous residents of the city of Youngstown, located in Ohio, USA, encountered strange raccoons that behave like zombies (see video below).
The police department has received over a dozen calls over the past few weeks from terrified citizens describing the creatures' unusual behavior. According to eyewitness accounts, raccoons stand on their hind legs, bite their teeth, and then fall to the ground, where they lie motionless for a while before repeating their mysterious maneuvers.
One of the local residents, who witnessed firsthand the strange antics, said that he had never seen raccoons with such "extremely strange behavior."
“He got up on his hind legs and showed his teeth, and then fell back and went almost into a coma,” said Robert Coggshall.
Even stranger is the fact that these incidents occurred during daylight hours, which is not typical for nocturnal creatures, and the loud daytime sounds that usually scare raccoons seem to have completely ceased to excite them.
There have been speculations that raccoons contracted rabies, but the Ohio Department of Natural Resources believes this is unlikely. Based on the testimony of witnesses, experts concluded that this is most likely a disease known as distemper. And while humans cannot contract the disease, they warn pet owners to be careful.
Voronina Svetlana