BATH — Local police confirmed Monday that a skunk found on Whiskeg Road near the Bath Golf Course has tested positive for rabies.

The department responded to a report of a sick skunk on Wednesday, Oct. 24, and killed the animal when they found it. Deputy Chief Robert Savary said that the incident was typical for how the department deals with these reports.

“Our response is going to be the same no matter what. We get a call that there’s an injured or sick looking animal, we go and make an assessment,” said Savary. “If we can and if we feel it’s appropriate, we’ll dispatch it and test it, like we did this time.”

The police say that no one was exposed to the animal during that time. The carcass was taken to Augusta for testing, where it was confirmed that the animal had rabies.

This is the first animal found in Bath to test positive for rabies this year according to state records, but not the first in the Midcoast. Brunswick has seen its fair share, with seven reports of attacks by rabid animals over the summer. The most dramatic incident occurred in late June, when 95-year-old Brunswick resident Robert Galen killed a rabid fox in his backyard with a broken plank.

Although less concentrated than the spate of reports in Brunswick from June through August, other Midcoast communities have reported several interactions with rabid animals over the summer and into the fall.

On June 25, 82-year-old Lisbon resident James Ross was attacked in his home by a rabid fox, which he killed with a meat cleaver. Because Ross was not injured, the animal wasn’t tested to confirm whether it had rabies. According to state data, however, three other animals have tested positive for rabies this year in the Lisbon area — a fox in March, a fox in June and a skunk in early September.

The state database also shows two bats testing positive for rabies, one in Bowdoin on Oct. 5 and one in West Bath on Sept. 25.

According to the state database, 87 animals have tested positive for rabies in Maine this year, not including the most recent case in Bath which has not yet been entered. That’s 21 more cases than the 67 reported in 2017.

With 88 known cases, this year has seen more reportable instances of rabies in Maine than any year in the past decade. To find a year with more reported cases, one has to go back to 2006, when the state reported a total of 127 cases.

Savary said the Bath Police Department won’t be doing anything differently in response to this single incident, but he warned residents to keep an eye on their pets and to stay away from wildlife, especially if it is acting unusual.

“The Bath Police Department urges all dog and cat owners to keep their pets up to date on their vaccinations. We also urge you to limit your pets unsupervised roaming,” said Savary in a statement. “If you see wildlife acting sick, injured or aggressive, please call the Bath Police Department.”

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