The skunks are bolder, they are looking healthy and often acting friendly. Then they bite. To add to our concern, this is the beginning of the breeding season for skunks, so they are becoming more active. Portsmouth and Middletown, in particular, are experiencing a high number of confirmed skunks. The state's metropolitan area accounts for a third of the 1997 total, which may be more a reflection on the proximity of man to nature than a particular hot pocket, according to Littlefield.
Raccoons carrying the disease often look sick, or debilitated.
By contrast, skunks often appear very healthy, and act playful, bold, and aggressive. The skunk was rabid. The same week, in the daytime, a miniature horse was bitten by another healthy-looking skunk who had been playing with it. The skunk was rabid. Rabies is cyclical.