Rabies-Infected Raccoon Attacks 4-Year-Old, Leaves Brutal Bite

A 4-year-old child from Pike Road, Alabama is in recovery after being viciously attacked by a rabies-infected raccoon. The images shared by the family showing the bite wound are absolutely brutal.

Nicholas Hughes recalled hearing his daughter, Harper, screaming in the backyard. The man went outside to find a rabid raccoon gnawing on the 4-year-old's leg.

"The only thing I could think of when I got back here and saw what was happening was making sure the animal was dead," Hughes said.

Once Nicholas made his way to where his daughter in the backyard, he then was attacked by the same raccoon.

"I ran back here, and I kicked it with my right foot," he said. "And it bit through my shoe and into my foot. I had to use my left foot to try and break its neck because it wasn't letting go of either me or her."

According to State Public Health Veterinarian Dee Jones, rabid animals are typically much more aggressive.

"That aggressive behavior is actually the way the virus is propagated from one animal to the next through the salivary glands," Jones said.

Hours before the attack occurred, one of Hughes' neighbors sent him a picture of the raccoon limping along the ground. Jones says that this should have been a warning signal.

"Raccoons that are out during the day, typically a nocturnal animal, an animal that feeds at night, is out during the day usually because he's infected with the rabies virus," Jones said.

Currently, both Nicholas and Harper are going through the rabies treatment, according to WBRC.

While the incident was terrifying, Nicholas is aware that the situation could have resulted in far more serious harm for his daughter.

"She was kind of laid back, and it would have just taken a few seconds for it to make it up to her neck or face and at that point it would have probably been too late," Hughes said.

After the frightening incident, the girl's father, Nicholas Hughes, and the health department have been warning the public about the threat of wild animals.

Animal attacks of this variety are extremely rare, but raccoons are responsible for half of all rabies cases every year according to the Alabama Department of Public Health.

For more information on rabies and prevention, visit the Alabama Department of Public Health website.

How would you react if you ran out into your backyard and a raccoon was attacking your child?

[H/T WBRC]