Woodchuck killed in Easthampton after odd behavior

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

EASTHAMPTON - Nearly one year after a Clapp Street woman was bitten by a rabid woodchuck, a local animal control officer shot and killed a woodchuck near a Ferry Street day-care center Tuesday afternoon.

Although it will remain unclear whether the animal was rabid until test results are returned, Jennifer Kline, who spotted and assisted in trapping the animal, said the animal's unusual behavior was cause for concern.

"It was in the back yard next door to us the other day and none of us really knew what it was," Kline said. "It was walking a couple of feet and then falling on its side and then walking again. It was just acting a little off."

Out of concern for her children, who were playing in the pool in her backyard, and her neighbor's dog, who was leashed nearby, Kline called her neighbor, who called city police.

"I just didn't want some sick thing running around the yard," Kline said.

Behavior indicative of rabies can include stumbling, lethargy, falling over or aggressive behavior, such as charging and biting - experts suggest people call for help from an animal control officer when confronted with animals in this condition.

After Kline trapped the animal under a cardboard box and weighted it down with bricks, Hilltown Animal Control Officer Robert Jackman and Easthampton Sgt. Dominic Serino arrived at Kline's 74 Ferry St. home and decided to kill the animal.

"Apparently they said it was definitely a woodchuck and it was just covered in ticks," Kline said. "It was probably pretty sick."

Jennifer Laprade, who manages an in-home day care center next door to Kline's house, said she didn't know if the animal posed any danger to her children, but worried that one of them could accidentally wander into its path.

"I saw something walking around in the grass and I thought they got a new pet because it kind of looks like a weasel or something and it was too big to be a ferret," Laprade said.

In July of last year, an unidentified Clapp Street woman was working in her backyard when a woodchuck emerged from the bushes and latched on to her ankle.

After being captured in a trap baited with tomatoes and broccoli and put down by Jackman, the animal was sent to a lab in Jamaica Plain, where it tested positive for rabies.

At the time, Jackman, who has been the city's animal control officer for 10 years, told a Gazette reporter that despite sending in many animals over the years, it was the first time he had ever had a test come back positive and stressed that residents shouldn't panic.

Woodchucks, unlike foxes and raccoons, are typically not carriers of rabies, and positive tests for any creature are rare, he said.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.