‘Rabid’ (or not) Raccoon Rattles UES Residents; Masked Critter Still at Large
One person who posted a video on Citizen said the raccoon was “rabid,” prompting a police response. Although not clear if the animal, which is still at large, really was rabid, people are advised to always avoid contact with raccoons.
| 20 Apr 2025 | 09:19
A raccoon was spotted walking across scaffolding on the Upper East Side on April 14, and when someone posted to the social media platform Citizen that the animal was “rabid,” it prompted a police response.
The Citizen user posted video footage of the raccoon out for a morning stroll at 505 E. 79th St.
Raccoons are typically nocturnal and avoid humans by staying hidden during the day, foraging for food at night. Spotting one in broad daylight is considered unusual and can be interpreted as a possible sign of illness.
In the video, startled voices can be heard reacting to the animal: “Oh my god, it’s so big!” and “I don’t know where he went.” The reactions reflect the shock of encountering a wild animal in an urban environment during the daytime.
Online users responded with a mix of concern and empathy. One questioned, “How do we know it’s rabid?” while another commented, “Just trying to survive like the rest of us.” Some urged compassion—“Leave the animal alone”—whereas others were more territorial, with one local saying, “This is my street, I have never seen it before.”
Although the NYPD responded to the call, the raccoon had vanished by the time cops arrived. Despite the city’s vaccination campaign in 2021 following several rabies cases, it is nearly impossible to fully eliminate the threat. Residents are advised to avoid contact with raccoons and to alert authorities if one is behaving unusually.
Raccoon sightings are rare in Manhattan but not unprecedented, and the spring weather seems to invite the masked bandits to take a stroll. In March 2021, residents spotted a raccoon strolling along an UES promenade on East 71st Street. Cops managed to capture that one.
In April 2018, Upper West Side residents reported that a tiger was roaming the streets of Washington Heights. Police went so far as to call out an NYPD helicopter before they confirmed that the dark-striped critter on the loose was a raccoon, not a tiger. There is no word in press reports at the time what happened to that raccoon. Or how police learned the raccoon was not a tiger.
And raccoons are not just an uptown thing. In April 2019, it took nearly a dozen cops to collar a raccoon in the 14th Street/Sixth Avenue subway station.
And in October 2021, cops rescued a raccoon that had climbed up a drain pipe on a Chelsea building and was sitting on a window ledge at 21 W. 16th St. “Rocky” was apparently unable to climb down and sat atop a window AC unit until cops were able to catch him.
And out at LaGuardia Airport last November, passengers were startled when a raccoon fell from the ceiling at a Spirit Airlines gate around 8 a.m. He was seen clinging to a wire after he fell through a ceiling tile, but the story had a happy ending.
“The raccoon was safely located and released outside, with no further sightings reported,” the Port Authority said at the time. There were no injuries to the raccoon or humans.
The last known rabies case in Manhattan occurred in a bat discovered May 19, 2023, at Columbus Ave. and W. 87th Street.
The NYC Dept of Health said this year that two rabid raccoons were discovered in Brooklyn, five in Queens, and two more on Staten Island.
Raccoons with rabies have been showing up on Long Island this year. Four cases of rabid raccoons have been discovered in Amityville in Suffolk County in 2025. “We are very concerned that rabies is spreading along our western border,” Suffolk County Health Commissioner Dr. Gregson Pigott said, according to reports.
In New York City, animal rabies occurs primarily in raccoons, bats, and skunks, according to the city Health Department. If left untreated, rabies in humans is fatal, but the last known case of rabies in New York City occurred in 1947. Dogs, cats, and ferrets are required to be vaccinated against the disease.
Signs of rabies in raccoons and other animals can include tiredness and low energy, confusion and disorientation, difficulty in moving or walking, but also unusual and extreme aggression.
Anyone observing any signs that suggest an animal may be rabid are urged to call 311 or, if concerned about immediate danger, call 911. Health officials warn residents never to try to trap or catch a raccoon on their own.