Plants can NOT get rabies.

A plant capable of eating rodents has been discovered in the Philippines. It is a pitcher plant, newly named Nepenthes attenboroughii, and very rare.

Rat Eating Plant Discovered

A reader asked me to research what would happen if the plant ate a rabid rat. The answer: the world would have one fewer rabid rat. But I wouldn't eat the plant either way.

Pack of Wild Dogs kills retired philosophy professor and librarian

...But rabies seems not to have been involved.

Wild Dogs Attack, Kill Elderly Georgia Couple
Apparently the wife went out walking, was attacked and killed first; then the husband, who went looking for her, suffered the same fate.

The 65-year-old animal lover was taking an evening stroll last week when she was attacked by the feral dogs, authorities believe. Her husband, Lothar Schweder, a retired professor, fell victim to the pack when he went out looking for her.
A shredded piece of shirt, some strands of hair and bloodstained dirt were all that remained Tuesday where the couple was killed. Paramedics who came to the grisly scene Saturday morning found the suspected attackers standing guard. While it's unclear exactly what happened because there were no witnesses, officials have rounded up 16 dogs they believe were involved.

The dogs showed no sign of rabies. They were just plain aggressive.

There have been at least 20 deadly dog attacks in the U.S. this year, 22 in 2008 and 33 in 2007, said the Humane Society's Goldfarb, compared with about 75 million owned dogs. The National Weather Service says there were 27 lightning deaths so far this year, 28 in 2008 and 45 in 2007.
Dogs that attack also typically are not spayed or neutered, which can contribute to aggression, Goldfarb said. The dogs in the attack are not believed to have been sterilized.

Rabid Horses

Last week saw TWO rabid horse stories -- rare and sad, though neither was particularly awful.

A Maryland horse was put down after being diagnosed with rabies (probably from a raccoon bite)
Harford County Horse Euthanized
The farm is under quarantine.

The horse had had no contact with the public. About 25 feral cats were trapped at the farm and euthanized. Other animals, including several family pets, had current vaccinations and were given boosters

And a Texas horse died of rabies after returning from a rodeo.
Scurry County Horse Dies of Rabies
A health alert was put out for anyone who had come in contact with the horse at the rodeo.

Save the Vultures!

[I'm giving up on the star system until I can find smaller stars]

Vultures Slow the spread of Rabies
The world vulture population is shrinking because of modern ranching and farming techniques.

The advent of 20th century farming replaced wild herd animals, whose carcasses are the staple diet of vultures around the world, with heavily medicated livestock. Diclofenac, a frequently administered anti-inflammatory veterinary painkiller comparable to ibuprofen, has proven to be particularly deadly to the vultures that ingest it secondhand. Though the birds by design have "very strong stomach fluids" that digest even the nastiest of pathogens, this particular drug has proven too much, says Tom Aversa of Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo.

But the decline in vultures has meant a rise in rabies!

Countries where vultures are most threatened, such as Nepal, India and Pakistan, rely heavily on vultures for a kind of natural maid service: as they clear out dead animals, the risk of disease is also reduced. Dangerous wild-dog packs that feed on dead livestock have also flourished without competition from the birds, says Todd Katzner of Pittsburgh's National Aviary, leading to a new surge of rabies, particularly in Mumbai. "People don't realize what a key role vultures play in the ecosystem," says Aversa. "[They] prevent disease and recycle."

So the answer: Vulture Awareness!

On Sept. 5 — the first annual International Vulture Awareness Day — zoos and bird societies around the globe will sponsor educational tours and flight demonstrations to get the word out about the plight of the vultures. Unlike blue whales, polar bears and other beloved species in danger of extinction, it may be harder to rally folks to save these prickly feathered birds with bumpy, bald heads, portly physiques and a tendency to be knee-deep in rotting flesh.

Better the rotting rabid flesh be in the belly of a vulture, I say.

Should you drink milk from a cow bitten by a rabid dog?

Apparently not. I missed this story from a few weeks ago.

Rabies Scare in Bhutan

24 July, 2009 - Sixty-five residents of Nganglam in Pemagatshel are being vaccinated against rabies after they drank the unboiled milk of a cow that was bitten by a rabid dog.

Those that handled the rabid cow and ate beef are also receiving the five doses of the human diploid cell vaccine (HDC).

Of the 65 residents, 37 are from Dezema village, which is about a two-hour walk from Nganglam and 28 are from the Nganglam dungkhag area.

Health officials confirmed the outbreak on July 13, when five dogs, a cat and a cow in Dezema village died after being bitten by a suspected rabid dog on July 8. On July 18, another cow had died of suspected rabies in Nganglam.

Rabies is spread through saliva that is spread through a bite or scratch, but better safe than sorry in this case.

A Rabid Otter Story

This one is more strange than awful: an Austrian woman swimming in a Wisconsin lake last week says she was bitten repeatedly by otters; now she's getting precautionary rabies shots.

From the AP: Rabid Otters Attack Woman

She spotted an otter. "I thought it was really cool," she said. "I'd never seen an otter before. Then, all of a sudden, there were three of them."
She felt uncomfortable and swam to shore. She said she had her hands on the shore and legs in the water, "and there they were — one on the right leg and one on the left leg."
"I shook my legs, and they went away," France said. They bit her eight or nine times, but it "never really hurt much."

Rabid otters are not rare, though they are uncommon. Five years ago there was a rabid otter attack in New York
Rabid Otter bites boy

'He got out yelling, 'Help,' and crying, 'Get it off me,' and then he fell back into the water so I ran up to him and saw this thing hanging off of him,'' Mrs. Pedersen said yesterday.

Two lifeguards used kickboards to knock the otter off the boy. The animal then dashed around in the sand and unsuccessfully lunged at others. It ran back into the water and back on the beach before a lifeguard was able to throw a milk crate over it. Finally, a county sheriff's deputy came to the scene and shot the otter, which tested positive for rabies on Thursday.

Rabid Wolf vs. Rabid Kitten

No, they were not in the same ring. These are two separate incidents. But if you asked me which is the more scary, I would say clearly the rabid kitten story, because the danger of a child being unknowingly infected is much worse.

A rabid kitten was found in the parking lot of a mall in Annapolis MD on Saturday, August 8, 2009.
Rabid kitten found near mall
An public service announcement has been running on radio and TV since to alert people who had been in the area -- to urge anyone who had been in the parking lot or nearby who perhaps had petted the animal to contact the Maryland Department of Health immediately.

Meanwhile, in Alaska, a pack of wolves attacked and killed three sled dogs in a Marshall, remote village in Western Alaska. Rabid wolf attack kills 6 dogs One wolf killed by a villager later tested positive for rabies.

Only 18 wolves have tested positive for rabies in Alaska since 1977. The last confirmed case was in Dillingham in 1998.

Marshall resident Tony Boliver lost a female and three puppies in the wolf attack. He ended up shooting and burning eight dogs that were bitten by the wolves. His remaining seven dogs that weren't injured are in a fenced area.

The animals are burned so that they will not be eaten by another animal, thus spreading the virus.