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– In Toronto, emerging next week after a strict month-long lockdown, the pandemic has brought residents closer to their local wildlife – and interactions haven’t always gone well. According to the CBC, there has been a 62% increase in the number of reports of people being scratched or bitten by raccoons. Calls to Toronto Animal Services about sick or injured raccoons have more than tripled year over year to more than 13,000 by 2020. Authorities say raccoons are not getting more aggressive, but people who stay at home or walk more in their neighborhood encounter sick animals and get bit if they try to deal with it themselves. Some people have also been bitten or scratched while petting or feeding wild raccoons, which the authorities strongly advise against.
“They’re really just people who are foolish,” said Derick McChesney, owner of a wildlife management company. Guardian“I come face to face with them pretty much every day. One can be aggressive, especially when there are babies around. But for the most part, nothing has really changed about them. Instead, people are more at home and unfortunately they are silly too. ”McChesney says many people who stay home all day realize for the first time that raccoons live in their attics or crawl spaces. “They have always had the unique ability to find out where the quiet spots of the house are,” he says. “They love to nest directly above the master bedroom,” because it is usually quiet during the day, he says. (Raccoons are usually nocturnal, but distemper can cause them to act like “zombies” during the day.)