Experts urge people to beware of disease that causes ‘glowing green eyes’ and could kill pets

A fatal animal disease that causes their eyes to glow green has become epidemic among Colorado’s raccoons, police warned this week.   

The Greeley Police Department said it has received reports of the animals in people’s yards acting strange displaying no fear for humans.

The nocturnal animals are suffering from distemper, a virus more commonly seen in dogs that causes a loss of fear of people, eye discharge, confusion, aggression, seizures, vomiting, and glowing green eyes.

The condition is usually fatal for the raccoon that contracts it. While humans cannot get sick from the virus, it can be spread to pets by humans who are exposed to it.

The department has cautioned people to keep their pets and children away from any raccoon they see during daylight hours, particularly if they seem to be wandering aimlessly or otherwise acting odd in any way.

Distemper is not the same as rabies, but there is some overlap in symptoms. Regardless of what may appear wrong with a raccoon, Coloradans should call animal control.

If the raccoon has died, the person should handle it only with rubber gloves (if absolutely necessary) and call a garbage disposal service from a list of available companies.

The department said: ‘Do not approach the raccoons or otherwise try to feed them. Don’t leave food out for the raccoon either, as you may attract other sick raccoons or other wildlife. It is wise to bring trash cans inside or make sure the lids are locked.’

Greeley’s local Fox News affiliate station spoke with First Choice Wildlife Services Owner Eric Brady, who said he found four raccoons in two days last week suspected of having Distemper.

Mr Brady said: ‘The one raccoon his eyes were, it looked like it had puss or something where they were completely crusted over.

‘[The raccoon] was kind of tucked in a bush. People had reported that they had walked by. The raccoon had been there for two days and hadn’t moved.’

The virus causes mineral deposits to build up on the surface of the eye, which alters how lights reflect off their eyes and causes a green glowing appearance.

Officials believe that the outbreak in the city of about 113,000 began in October.

Residents in Douglas County made several reports to law enforcement about raccoons they first believed to have rabies.

Over the previous month, they saw increased reports of sick or dying raccoons. In one day, they received 15 calls about the issue.

Douglas country resident Kelly Ruedeen, who saw a sick raccoon in her driveway, said: ‘It’s heartbreaking when you’re watching an animal suffer.

‘You could tell he was not well. As he was getting closer you could tell he couldn’t see. He was stumbling and sniffing towards smells and falling over consistently.’

There have been outbreaks elsewhere in the US this year. 

In North Carolina, the Nags Head police department issued a similar warning last month, adding that the state’s Wildlife Resources Commission confirmed that the higher than average call volume about raccoons acting oddly was due to distemper.

Meawhile in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the state’s Humane Society said it’s Wildlife Rehabilitation Center recieved about 350 raccoons with canine distemper this year, three times more than usual. 

Brittni Kaplanek, Director of the WHS Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, said: ‘This year has been a very bad year for raccoons. 

‘This illness is fatal, in raccoons it is highly contagious.’

And last January, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene warned that distemper ‘has been circulating among raccoons and skunks in the Greenwood Heights, Sunset Park and Windsor Terrace sections of Brooklyn since November 2023. 

‘To date there have been reports of dead animals (eight raccoons and one skunk) and sick animals (three skunks and two raccoons) in these areas.’

Pinning down the number of raccoons who get sick and die of distemper every year is difficult, but it is generally always present among the raccoon population, and is the second-leading cause of death in raccoons (the first being human interference.) 

The distemper virus passed through a human exposed to their dog is highly contagious and generally lethal.

There is a vaccine, though, that most dogs get as a routine series, as it’s a core vaccine recommended by the influential American Animal Hospital Association.

No state agency disposes of dead sick raccoons, but the Greeley police department recommended a series of privately run services on its Facebook page.

The department added: ‘We are unable to catch or relocate the raccoons with our animal control officers as they are responsible for calls related to domesticated animals only.

‘We are also unable to relocate the raccoons as that would only aid in spreading the virus out of the immediate area.’