Monterey, TN- The Monterey Police Department notified residents in the area earlier this week of several encounters with Canine distemper in wildlife. They stated if you see an animal acting strange DO NOT approach it, it may have the virus.

Canine distemper is a virus that attacks the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and nervous systems in a variety of wildlife. It normally affects animals such as raccoons, foxes, skunks, coyotes, and even domestic dogs. The virus is not transmissible to humans.

Signs of distemper in wildlife can include aimless wandering, fearlessness, aggressiveness, head tilt, and circling behavior to name a few.

The officers also state to make sure your dogs are fully vaccinated and are not having contact with possibly infected wildlife. It can be transmitted through urine, saliva, feces, and other infected animal secretions. Younger animals are more susceptible to the virus.

They encourage everyone to not approach or bother animals suspected of being infected and report any wildlife that appears to have this “zombie-like” virus.