An Idaho mother rescued her infant son from a raccoon attack inside of their home before the baby’s father and a sheriff’s deputy killed the animal.

On Monday, Dec. 23, officers from the Idaho Fish and Game (IDFG) and the Cassia County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call involving a mother who heard “a loud noise in the home” and discovered a raccoon attacking her baby boy, Idaho Fish and Game shared in a release on Dec. 27.

The unnamed mom grabbed the animal to stop the attack, and her son was transported to the Cassia Regional Hospital in Burley for “undisclosed injuries” before being transferred to a hospital in Salt Lake City.

According to officials, a a sheriff’s deputy returned to the home with the baby’s father, located the animal and they killed it. IDFG noted that it is unclear how the raccoon gained access to the home. No other raccoons were found inside and the department is “confident’ that the animal killed was the same one that attacked the baby.

The animal’s carcass has since been tested for rabies by the Idaho Bureau of Laboratories with tests coming back negative.

“Once notified of the incident, staff from the Magic Valley Region activated their Wildlife Human Attack Response Team,” the IDFG wrote in the release. “This specially trained team of department staff has the responsibility to act to protect the safety of the public and incident responders; attempt to identify, locate, and control the animal(s) involved in a human-wildlife incident; and conduct, document and report investigative findings.”

Per the IDFG, reports of raccoon attacks on humans in the state are “extremely rare” and “only one case of raccoon rabies” has been documented in Idaho. They are “generally shy,” mostly avoid humans and can become aggressive if feeling “threatened.”

The IDFG encouraged Idahoans to “never purposely feed a raccoon.”

“As with all wildlife that can be found around homes in Idaho, the best course of action to avoid raccoon encounters is to take preventative actions before a problem starts,” the department wrote. “Raccoons can live in a variety of habitats, but an area with access to water and food will attract them.”

“A homeowner can limit food sources by securing residential garbage, removing any fallen fruit or rotten produce from your yard or garden, feeding pets indoors, keeping pet food securely stored, and removing or securing bird feeders,” IDFG added. “Blocking raccoon access to hiding places in sheds and outbuildings and sealing off potential entryways and exits in and around a home will also discourage raccoon use.”

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The raccoon attack comes several months after another raccoon apparently attacked people waiting in line for a ride at Hersheypark in Pennsylvania. On April 3, TMZ shared footage of guests waiting to board the SooperDooperLooper days earlier at the theme park as they attempted to avoid the animal.

The person recording the clip could be heard off-camera saying that the raccoon ran off with a girl’s shoe, with two guests reportedly bitten. In a statement to CBS 21, park officials said the animal encounter was not a common occurrence and that they had “extensive fencing to help prevent this type of incident from occurring.”

“Guest safety is and will always be our top priority at Hersheypark. As such, we have a full complement of public safety and health professionals on property who responded quickly to render necessary care to the two people impacted,” the officials added.

Biologist Tom Keller, who works for the Pennsylvania Game Commission, told the outlet that officials at the park handled the situation correctly and that the animal appeared to be “really frightened” and felt “trapped” around the “screaming humans.” 

CAREY, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — Shaylin and Eric Heywood said they dreamed of owning reindeer, and last year, it came true when they opened the Sawtooth Reindeer Ranch in Carey.

“Seeing all the kids just in awe that reindeer actually exists makes all the work worth it,” Eric Haywood said.

Since then, they’ve learned how to take care of these unique creatures, and it’s a lot of work.

“I was full-time, we were both full-time, but now I am a stay-at-home-reindeer mom full-time,” Shaylin Heywood said. “These guys do require quite a bit, it’s out here all day every day.”

Their business centers around tours of their ranch and bringing their reindeer to events across the Magic Valley. Another one of their goals is to spread the knowledge of how important these animals are to agriculture.

“The huge culture and history they actually have in agricultural life,” Shaylin Haywood said. “Idaho recognizes that, but like how we have horses, cows and dogs, the Sami people they have reindeer, that is their livestock animal.”

Eric Heywood said that raising reindeer comes with unique struggles.

“When they’re not feeling good, they really do a good job at disguising it,” Eric Heywood said. “Because they don’t want to show weakness, because if they show weakness in a herd environment, they are usually the ones that get cut out or taken out.”

With their reindeer’s success over the years, the Heywoods said they know the community is there for them.

“Everybody has been awesome, and it’s been really cool to see kind of like cheer and happiness that they bring no matter where we go or who comes here, it’s been awesome,” Shaylin Haywood said.

The ranch is preparing to welcome some new additions next year.

“Also, keep an eye out because this spring, we are expecting our first round of calves, so we will have a bunch of baby reindeer running around,” Shaylin Heywood said.

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RUPERT, Idaho — Magic Valley farmers and food producers are always innovating, making the region a “Mecca” for food production. Bare Beans in Rupert is one company that is bringing a fresh approach to a classic food staple

• Bare Beans produces cooked, ready-to-eat beans farmed in the Magic Valley.
• Unlike canned beans, Bare Beans have no liquid, preservatives, or additives.

(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)

Business is booming at Bare Beans in Rupert

“We go through about five of these a day,” Huff said.

Beans have been grown in Idaho as long as there’s been agriculture. And Huff’s husband has farmed them most of his life.

Huff founded Bare Beans in 2018, after looking for a product she could produce using her family’s agricultural commodities

“We simulate the whole scratch homemade process. We do a batch-made kettle-cooked bean that has a great quality, great taste, great smell, but we don’t have all the icky stuff that’s in a can,” Huff said.

The project was no overnight matter.

“Michelle has been in the food industry for like 20 years or so, and we keep seeing this term ‘value-added,’” said Bare Beans marketing director Beth Cofer. “And so when she knew there was something that her husband was already growing that she could revalue back to she thought of this and started talking about it and worked on it until she was able to perfect it into what it is today.”

After the research and development had been sorted out, they started product testing.

“We kind of did a little grassroots marketing and brought to school districts in the area and we just gave the beans away,” Huff said. “And we got some great feedback and we were like ‘Okay, we’re onto something here.’”

The process is just like you’d make beans from scratch at home — they soak beans in batches to rehydrate them, then cook them.

“After they’re done getting cooked, they get all the way out up here to the shakers up there,” Huff said. “They get pumped up there onto our shaker, and then they come down here and get packaged into our packaging.”

The beans are an ingredient in many products, and they distribute nationwide. And they’re revamping their retail product, so you should be seeing Bare Beans in your grocer’s aisles by late 2025.

“We’re just trying to get back to our the original way of rehydrating them all night, open batch kettle cooking, and getting back to the quality of good food,” Huff said.