--- title: Police Thought These Raccoons Had Rabies But They Were Drunk description: After receiving reports of rabid raccoons in the area, the Milton, West Virginia Police Department discovered that the animals were drunk. canonical: https://time.com/5456063/drunk-raccoons/ author: Rachel E. Greenspan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-11-15T18:11:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:56:04.215Z og:title: Raccoons Who Police Thought Had Rabies Were Really Just Drunk og:description: If raccoons could talk, these ones would be slurring their words og:url: https://time.com/5456063/drunk-raccoons/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3593873c3e383892/69893f39457a52ac67d5fe6d/milton-police-department-raccoons1.jpg?branch=production&width=1022&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1022 og:image:height: 575 og:image:alt: milton-police-department-raccoons og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Raccoons Who Police Thought Had Rabies Were Really Just Drunk twitter:description: If raccoons could talk, these ones would be slurring their words twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3593873c3e383892/69893f39457a52ac67d5fe6d/milton-police-department-raccoons1.jpg?branch=production&width=1022&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Raccoons Who Police Assumed Had Rabies Were Actually Just Drunk > Sponsored content. 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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. by [Rachel E. Greenspan](https://time.com/author/rachel-e-greenspan/) ## Rachel E. Greenspan Nov 15, 2018 6:11 PM UTC  The inebriated raccoon. The inebriated raccoon. Milton Police Department by [Rachel E. Greenspan](https://time.com/author/rachel-e-greenspan/) ## Rachel E. Greenspan Nov 15, 2018 6:11 PM UTC If raccoons could talk, some headline-making animals in West Virginia may be slurring their words. After receiving reports of rabid raccoons in the area, the Milton, West Virginia Police Department apprehended some of the “culprits.” But, according to the Department’s Facebook post, it’s not rabies that made these animals stumble. “We have had calls on suspected rabid raccoons twice over the last two days,” the [Milton Police Department Facebook post](https://www.facebook.com/miltonpolicewv/photos/a.274054162787377/954296458096474/?type=1&theater) reads. “Turns out they appear to be drunk on crabapples.” Yes, that’s right — the raccoons were drunk, not rabid. Some folks on the internet may not be shocked by this revelation of animal alcohol consumption — after all, there are [a number of YouTube videos](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gye6cN601To) documenting the phenomenon. There is also [extensive research](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/009130579390232I) about [how it plays out](https://gizmodo.com/do-wild-animals-get-drunk-and-high-on-purpose-1583987621) in the animal kingdom. Despite the police department’s near-certain explanation for the raccoons’ behavior, some animals exhibiting similar symptoms could be sick. “If you see a staggering and disoriented raccoon please do not approach it,” the Facebook post says. So, if you stumble upon a raccoon who seems to have had one too many vodka sodas, you should probably still call the police. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5456063/drunk-raccoons/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5456063/drunk-raccoons/"},"headline":"Raccoons Who Police Assumed Had Rabies Were Actually Just Drunk","datePublished":"2018-11-15T18:11:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:56:04.215Z","description":"If raccoons could talk, these ones would be slurring their words","url":"https://time.com/5456063/drunk-raccoons/","keywords":["Newsfeed","West Virginia","animals","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3593873c3e383892/69893f39457a52ac67d5fe6d/milton-police-department-raccoons1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rachel E. 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