Virginia woman, 75, chokes rabid raccoon to death during attack
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A 75-year-old Virginia woman choked a rabid raccoon to death Saturday after the animal attacked her while she was taking a peaceful stroll inside a botanical garden.
Cas Overton, a tai chi instructor, was attacked in a wooded area at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Henrico, Va., after the raccoon emerged from what she believed to be a thicket of bamboo. The animal grabbed a hold of her leg and refused to let go, she said.
"As I moved backward away from it, I grabbed its neck and I knew that I couldn't get away from it. If I ran, it would be faster than I would and would just tear me to pieces," Overton told The Richmond Times-Dispatch. "You know, self-preservation kicks in, and I guess a primitive part of my brain just went into operation and that was it."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Overton told the paper that she managed to escape only after the animal stopped moving. She was treated at an area hospital where she took a series of rabies-prevention shots.
She called herself a "terrific animal-lover" who had few options during the encounter. Officials at the gardens closed down the path where Overton was attacked.