I remember reading the old tabloid headlines when I was a kid. To me, the funniest one was ' Bat Child Found in Cave'. While that was just a hoax to get people excited, it seems that zombie raccoons in Illinois are now a thing. It's not what you think, there are not un-dead racoons running amuck through our state. But it is serious, according to NBCChicago.com,  there is an issue and it puts your pets at risk.

In the recent weeks, there have been reports of raccoons acting very strangely around Illinois. Actually they are suffering from Distemper, a disease that affects several body systems in the animals. Nicknamed 'Zombie Raccoons' Some of the symptoms include eye inflammation, high fever, nose discharge and vomiting. The disease also affect their brain and spinal cord. In the video below you can see a racoon suffering from distemper so you understand how they act. These animals are nocturnal so if you see them out in the daytime you can bet they are probably sick or infected.

It's so sad to see them like this. Distemper has almost a 100% mortality rate in unvaccinated dogs and ferrets. The last thing you want is for your pets to come in contact with one of these infected raccoons. These infected animals start acting very different. This is a very dangerous disease so please keep your eyes open. If you do see one please contact animal control. Also, please make sure your animals are vaccinated.

More From 97 ZOK