I just learned this today from my mom (who learned it from NPR) but I looked it up and it is legit. If you see an animal, other than a dog, which is covered in porcupine quills, stay away. It is almost certainly rabid.
Dogs are naturally curious and have a knack for getting into trouble. But otherwise, nature’s wild animals know to stay away from porcupines. The only animals willing to attack a porcupine are either martens (which have a specific technique) or rabid animals that are already in the throws of rabies madness. According to the vet on this month’s ‘Pets and Vets’ on NPR, every animal she saw (other than dogs) brought in with porcupine quills also had rabies.
So when you see that cute raccoon, clearly in distress, covered in porcupine quills, stay away and call animal control. It is not in distress because it is covered in quills, it is in distress because it is rabid and that is why it approached a porcupine in the first place.
Rabies is incurable. Please don’t let your good heartedness lead to you getting a fatal illness.
This is important but I would like to add that rabies is curable/preventable if you seek treatment before the onset of symptoms. It’s best to avoid contact in the first place, so don’t take that to mean “oh it’s okay to approach this probably-rabid dog,” but if a wild/stray animal should bite you in spite of your best efforts, disinfect the wound and seek a rabies vaccination ASAP!!