There's always a trickle, but over the last few weeks it has really picked up. 5 or 6 in Gnews this morning so far.
Heat?
Fire destruction of habitat forcing more contact?
Usual for summer but more D&D hype by media?
A hospital nurse tipped us off to the uptick a few months back.
In foothill California, the rodent explosion is probably part of it.
And don't forget the increasing hesitancy to vaccinate pets that I posted a while back.
Over and over I see so many looming issues whose root cause seems to be that the people who remember what the world was like with rampant rabies, polio, Great Power wars, big tariffs, etc are mostly dead now (not all - the family is having a cookout today for my dad's 97th birthday and he reminded me that he had an uncle with my name who died at five years old - he remembers)
about half are wildlife --bats, raccoons, occasional fox, sometimes coyote
Tell your dad happy birthday from me.
And a Happy Birthday from me ! A Grand age.
Oh, BTW, he was amused that people from an online forum were wishing him happy birthday. But he seemed to quite like it.
Of course he liked it, he is your dad after all :)
Beavers That's a new one.
(Maryland) State Park shuts down popular area after second attack on visitors by rabid beavers
https://www.the-sun.com/news/16813645/maryland-cunningham-falls-state-park-closure-beaver-attacks-rabies/
Rabies vaccination effort targets Vermont's northern border amid rising cases
https://www.wcax.com/2026/08/09/rabies-vaccination-effort-targets-northern-border-amid-rising-cases/
worst case scenario:
NC petting zoo: Rabid Baby Goats Send Health Officials Scrambling to Find Everyone Who Cuddled Them
https://gizmodo.com/rabid-baby-goats-send-health-officials-scrambling-to-find-everyone-who-cuddled-them-2000805555