Residents in the Moscow region are facing the adorable but deadly threat of rabid hedgehogs, news website Life.ru reported Sunday.
Two hedgehogs infected with rabies were found in the Dmitrovsky District and Solnechnogorsky districts of the Moscow region, Life.ru reported, quoting animal control inspector Alexander Motoshin. He said that is was difficult to predict how many more infected hedgehogs will appear in the area.
Motoshin urged Moscow residents not to touch hedgehogs, warning animal lovers that they could contract rabies simply by being pricked with a hedgehog's spine.
A total of 70 cases of rabies in wild animals have been diagnosed in the Moscow region this year, including 57 foxes, nine raccoon dogs, a deer and a squirrel, Life.ru reported.
The risk of tick bites is also returning with the warm weather as one of the capital's greatest animal dangers.
More than 30,000 people, including 9,208 children, have sought medical treatment for tick bites in 2016. The number is four times more that in the same period last year, the Interfax news agency reported Monday.
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