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Princeton

Possibly rabid raccoon bites an undergraduate near Dod Hall; second attack next morning

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Confirmed Threat

On the night of December 4, 2023, a possibly rabid raccoon bit an undergraduate near Dod Hall and the Princeton University Art Museum construction site around 9:00 p.m. EST, prompting a campus message subject-lined 'TIGERALERT: Raccoon Bite.' A second person was attacked the next morning at a nearby Hibben Road home; both raccoons showed rabies-typical behavior such as chirping and unprovoked aggression.

Alerts
1
Response
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Killed
—
Injured
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Institution
Princeton University
Private R1 · NJ
All Princeton cases →
~8,500 studentsTigerAlert
Official alert policy
Read when and how Princeton says it will use TigerAlert (formerly PTENS): summarized, quoted, and analyzed.
Documented Timeline

Alert Sequence

1 message in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

Confirmed wording is transcribed character-for-character from a primary source. Use Verify this quote under each message to open that source in a new tab and compare the text yourself.

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Verified verbatim1423 chars
TIGERALERT: Last night, an undergraduate student was bitten by a raccoon on the Princeton University campus. While the encounter happened near the Art Museum neighborhood, several other raccoon encounters were also reported in the Municipality of Princeton this morning. The University is in contact with Animal Control from the Municipality of Princeton, who is working to capture the animal. The animal on campus and in the community exhibited behaviors consistent with infection from rabies virus. If you see or have an encounter with a raccoon on campus, leave the area and contact the Department of Public Safety at 609-258-1000. Take these steps to protect yourself, your family, and pets from animal encounters: Do not approach, feed, or touch wild or stray animals. Discourage wild animal foraging by not leaving food, including pet food, outside and by securing garbage cans. Make sure your pets and domestic animals are up-to-date on their rabies vaccinations. If you see a wild animal (i.e. fox, skunk, raccoon), that is sick, injured, orphaned or behaving oddly, leave it alone and contact the Department of Public Safety at 609-258-1000. Do NOT handle the animal yourself. For additional information, please visit: https://emergency.princeton.edu/be-prepared/medical/animal-bites-and-scratches https://nj-princeton.civicplus.com/168/Animal-Control http://www.state.nj.us/health/cd/topics/rabies.shtml
Verify this quote
Princeton University official TigerAlert archive (AppArmor push notification system, alert ID 87108), confirmed by multiple media outlets quoting the same textprinceton.apparmor.comfind archived copies
Verbatim from Princeton's official TigerAlert archive at princeton.apparmor.com (alert ID 87108), confirmed by NJ1015, CBS Philadelphia, Fox 29 Philadelphia, WHYY, and The Daily Princetonian, all quoting the same text.
The alert was issued the morning of December 5, 2023 (the day after the approximately 9:00 p.m. EST December 4 attack), which explains the phrase 'Last night, an undergraduate student was bitten.'
Issued as a discretionary health-and-safety advisory rather than a Clery timely warning, since an animal bite is not a Clery-reportable crime.
2026-09-21 second deep audit b51 P4 a1-noledger-single-alert-public-case. Recapture official product at product boundary. Dual html.parser walk+regex. Cap-exempt R1.
Message elements

How the first alert is built

To check this alert, Claude Opus 5.5 (an AI) read it in full 25 separate times, independently. Each read decided whether the message answers each of the six questions and gave a short reason. A final reviewer then weighed all 25 and wrote the plain-English verdict you see when you open a row. The score (for example 22/25) is how many reads agreed; the 25 individual reads are tucked underneath if you want to check them.

TIGERALERT: Last night, an undergraduate student was bitten by a raccoon on the Princeton University campus. While the encounter happened near the Art Museum neighborhood, several other raccoon encounters were also reported in the Municipality of Princeton this morning. The University is in contact with Animal Control from the Municipality of Princeton, who is working to capture the animal. The animal on campus and in the community exhibited behaviors consistent with infection from rabies virus. If you see or have an encounter with a raccoon on campus, leave the area and contact the Department of Public Safety at 609-258-1000. Take these steps to protect yourself, your family, and pets from animal encounters: Do not approach, feed, or touch wild or stray animals. Discourage wild animal foraging by not leaving food, including pet food, outside and by securing garbage cans. Make sure your pets and domestic animals are up-to-date on their rabies vaccinations. If you see a wild animal (i.e. fox, skunk, raccoon), that is sick, injured, orphaned or behaving oddly, leave it alone and contact the Department of Public Safety at 609-258-1000. Do NOT handle the animal yourself. For additional information, please visit: https://emergency.princeton.edu/be-prepared/medical/animal-bites-and-scratches https://nj-princeton.civicplus.com/168/Animal-Control http://www.state.nj.us/health/cd/topics/rabies.shtml

  • Sourcepresent25/25

    Final assessment

    Present, unanimously. The message opens with the branded tag "TIGERALERT:" and names the Department of Public Safety, identifying the sender.

    Who is sending the alert and who is responding. People act faster on a message from a clearly identifiable, credible sender, such as a named department, the police, or a branded alert system, than on an anonymous notice. A branded signature counts.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. present: Branded 'TIGERALERT'.
    2. present: It opens with the branded tag 'TIGERALERT'.
    3. present: It opens with the branded tag "TIGERALERT".
    4. present: Opens with the branded tag 'TIGERALERT'.
    5. present: Branded "TIGERALERT" signature identifies the sender.
    6. present: Branded "TIGERALERT" and names the Department of Public Safety.
    7. present: Opens with 'TIGERALERT' and names the Department of Public Safety.
    8. present: Opens with 'TIGERALERT'.
    9. present: The 'TIGERALERT:' tag identifies the sender.
    10. present: The 'TIGERALERT:' tag and the University identify the sender.
    11. present: The 'TIGERALERT' tag identifies the sender.
    12. present: Branded 'TIGERALERT:' at the start.
    13. present: The 'TIGERALERT' tag and the Department of Public Safety identify the source.
    14. present: The "TIGERALERT" tag and the University identify the sender.
    15. present: Branded 'TIGERALERT' and the University.
    16. present: The message opens with 'TIGERALERT:' and refers to the University and Department of Public Safety.
    17. present: It opens with the branded Princeton tag 'TIGERALERT', which identifies who is sending the message.
    18. present: It opens with the branded tag 'TIGERALERT' and refers to the University and its Department of Public Safety.
    19. present: It opens with the branded tag 'TIGERALERT' and names the Department of Public Safety.
    20. present: It opens with the branded 'TIGERALERT:' tag and names the Department of Public Safety.
    21. present: The message opens with the 'TIGERALERT:' signature and names the Department of Public Safety.
    22. present: It opens with the branded tag 'TIGERALERT' and names the Department of Public Safety.
    23. present: The message opens with the branded tag 'TIGERALERT:' and mentions the Department of Public Safety.
    24. present: The message opens with the branded tag 'TIGERALERT', which identifies Princeton's alert system as the sender.
    25. present: The message opens with the branded tag 'TIGERALERT:', which identifies Princeton's alert system as the sender of the warning.
  • Hazardpresent25/25

    Final assessment

    Present, unanimously. A student was "bitten by a raccoon" showing "behaviors consistent with infection from rabies virus", a specific animal hazard.

    What the threat actually is. A complete warning names the specific danger, such as a shooter, a fire, a tornado, or a gas leak, rather than a vague emergency, because people decide what to do based on what they are facing.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. present: Raccoon bite with possible rabies.
    2. present: It names a raccoon bite with behavior consistent with rabies.
    3. present: It names a raccoon bite with signs of rabies.
    4. present: Describes a raccoon bite with behaviors 'consistent with infection from rabies virus'.
    5. present: It names a raccoon attack with behavior consistent with rabies.
    6. present: It names a raccoon bite with possible rabies.
    7. present: Names a raccoon bite with behaviors consistent with rabies.
    8. present: Names a raccoon showing signs of rabies.
    9. present: It names a raccoon bite with behavior 'consistent with infection from rabies virus'.
    10. present: It names a raccoon bite with signs of rabies.
    11. present: It names a raccoon bite with signs of rabies.
    12. present: It names a raccoon showing rabies behavior.
    13. present: It names a raccoon showing signs of rabies.
    14. present: It names a raccoon with behaviors consistent with rabies.
    15. present: A raccoon with likely rabies.
    16. present: It names a raccoon showing 'behaviors consistent with infection from rabies virus' after biting a student.
    17. present: It names a raccoon bite involving an animal showing behaviors consistent with rabies virus infection.
    18. present: It names a raccoon bite by an animal showing 'behaviors consistent with infection from rabies virus'.
    19. present: It names a raccoon bite with behavior 'consistent with infection from rabies virus'.
    20. present: It reports a student 'bitten by a raccoon' showing behaviors 'consistent with infection from rabies virus'.
    21. present: It describes a raccoon bite with 'behaviors consistent with infection from rabies virus'.
    22. present: It reports a raccoon bite and animals showing 'behaviors consistent with infection from rabies virus'.
    23. present: It describes a raccoon bite with behaviors 'consistent with infection from rabies virus'.
    24. present: It names a raccoon bite with behaviors 'consistent with infection from rabies virus'.
    25. present: It names a raccoon bite with behavior 'consistent with infection from rabies virus', a specific animal hazard.
  • Locationpresent25/25

    Final assessment

    Present, unanimously. The encounter happened "near the Art Museum neighborhood" on the Princeton University campus.

    Where the threat is. Saying whether danger is in a specific building, a part of campus, or area-wide lets people judge their own proximity and choose a safe direction. Without a where, a warning is hard to act on precisely.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. present: Princeton campus near the Art Museum neighborhood.
    2. present: 'near the Art Museum neighborhood' on the Princeton campus.
    3. present: It places the encounter near the Art Museum neighborhood on campus.
    4. present: Places the encounter 'near the Art Museum neighborhood' on campus.
    5. present: It says "near the Art Museum neighborhood" on campus.
    6. present: It says the Princeton campus near the Art Museum neighborhood.
    7. present: Gives 'near the Art Museum neighborhood' on campus.
    8. present: Says near the Art Museum neighborhood on campus.
    9. present: It gives 'near the Art Museum neighborhood' on campus.
    10. present: It says near the Art Museum neighborhood on campus.
    11. present: It says near the Art Museum neighborhood on campus.
    12. present: It gives near the Art Museum neighborhood on campus.
    13. present: It gives near the Art Museum neighborhood on campus.
    14. present: It names the Art Museum neighborhood on campus.
    15. present: Near the Art Museum neighborhood on campus.
    16. present: It says the encounter happened 'near the Art Museum neighborhood' on the Princeton campus.
    17. present: It places the encounter near the Art Museum neighborhood on the Princeton campus.
    18. present: It says the encounter happened 'near the Art Museum neighborhood' on the Princeton University campus.
    19. present: It says the encounter happened 'near the Art Museum neighborhood' on the Princeton campus.
    20. present: It says the encounter happened 'near the Art Museum neighborhood' on the Princeton campus.
    21. present: It says the encounter happened 'near the Art Museum neighborhood' on campus.
    22. present: It says the encounter happened 'near the Art Museum neighborhood' on the Princeton University campus.
    23. present: It says the encounter happened 'near the Art Museum neighborhood' on the Princeton campus.
    24. present: It places the encounter 'near the Art Museum neighborhood' on the Princeton campus.
    25. present: It says the encounter happened 'near the Art Museum neighborhood' on the Princeton campus.
  • Guidancepresent25/25

    Final assessment

    Present, unanimously. It instructs readers to "leave the area and contact the Department of Public Safety" and "Do not approach, feed, or touch" wild animals.

    The protective action to take. A clear, specific instruction, such as shelter in place, evacuate, avoid the area, or run-hide-fight, drives faster and more correct protective behavior than describing the threat alone.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. present: Leave the area and contact Public Safety; do not approach animals.
    2. present: 'leave the area and contact the Department of Public Safety'.
    3. present: It instructs "leave the area and contact the Department of Public Safety".
    4. present: Instructs 'leave the area and contact the Department of Public Safety'.
    5. present: It says "leave the area and contact the Department of Public Safety".
    6. present: It says leave the area and do not approach wild animals.
    7. present: Says to 'leave the area and contact the Department of Public Safety'.
    8. present: Instructs 'leave the area and contact the Department of Public Safety'.
    9. present: It says to 'leave the area and contact the Department of Public Safety'.
    10. present: It says 'leave the area and contact the Department of Public Safety'.
    11. present: It says to leave the area and not approach wild animals.
    12. present: It tells readers to 'leave the area' and not approach animals.
    13. present: It says to leave the area and not approach wild animals.
    14. present: It says leave the area and contact Public Safety.
    15. present: 'leave the area and contact the Department of Public Safety'.
    16. present: It instructs 'leave the area and contact the Department of Public Safety' and 'Do not approach, feed, or touch' animals.
    17. present: It instructs anyone encountering a raccoon to 'leave the area and contact the Department of Public Safety'.
    18. present: It tells readers to 'leave the area and contact the Department of Public Safety' and not to approach animals.
    19. present: It instructs anyone who encounters a raccoon to 'leave the area and contact the Department of Public Safety'.
    20. present: It tells readers to 'leave the area and contact the Department of Public Safety' and not to touch wild animals.
    21. present: It instructs 'leave the area and contact the Department of Public Safety' and not to approach animals.
    22. present: It instructs anyone encountering a raccoon to 'leave the area and contact the Department of Public Safety'.
    23. present: It tells recipients to 'leave the area and contact the Department of Public Safety' and not approach animals.
    24. present: It instructs 'leave the area and contact the Department of Public Safety' and not to approach animals.
    25. present: It instructs anyone who meets a raccoon to 'leave the area and contact the Department of Public Safety'.
  • Timepresent25/25

    Final assessment

    Present, unanimously. "Last night" and "this morning" place the bite and the other encounters in time.

    When the message applies. A timestamp, the word now or immediately, or a phrase like until further notice tells the reader whether the danger is current and how quickly to act.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. present: 'Last night' and 'this morning'.
    2. present: 'Last night' and 'this morning'.
    3. present: It says "Last night" and "this morning".
    4. present: 'Last night' and 'this morning' convey recency.
    5. present: It says "Last night" and "this morning".
    6. present: "Last night" and "this morning" give time cues.
    7. present: 'Last night' and 'this morning' convey recency.
    8. present: Says 'Last night' and 'this morning'.
    9. present: It uses 'Last night' and 'this morning'.
    10. present: It gives 'Last night' and 'this morning'.
    11. present: It says 'Last night' and 'this morning'.
    12. present: It says 'Last night' and 'this morning'.
    13. present: 'Last night' and 'this morning' give timing.
    14. present: "Last night" and "this morning" give time cues.
    15. present: 'Last night' and 'this morning'.
    16. present: It uses 'Last night' and 'this morning' to place the encounters in time.
    17. present: It uses 'Last night' and 'this morning' to convey how recently the raccoon encounters happened.
    18. present: It uses 'Last night' and 'this morning' to place the encounters in time.
    19. present: It uses 'Last night' and 'this morning' as recency cues.
    20. present: It uses 'Last night' and 'this morning' to convey when the encounters occurred.
    21. present: It uses 'Last night' and 'this morning' to place the events in time.
    22. present: It uses 'Last night' for the bite and 'this morning' for other encounters, which are recency cues.
    23. present: It uses 'Last night' and 'this morning' to place the encounters in time.
    24. present: It uses 'Last night' and 'this morning' to date the raccoon encounters, giving clear recency cues.
    25. present: It uses 'Last night' and 'this morning' to place the encounters in time.
  • Impactpresent25/25

    Final assessment

    Present, unanimously. It states "an undergraduate student was bitten" and raises possible rabies infection, conveying actual and potential harm.

    What the hazard could do to the people in its path. Beyond naming the threat, a complete warning conveys its potential consequences or severity, such as that a tornado can level buildings or that a leak could be explosive, so recipients grasp how much danger they are in. Research on warning message content finds that a concrete impact statement helps people personalize their risk and act sooner.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. present: A student was bitten and rabies infection is indicated.
    2. present: A student 'was bitten' and rabies infection is indicated, conveying harm.
    3. present: It states a student was bitten and the animal showed signs of rabies infection.
    4. present: States a student 'was bitten' and raises rabies infection, conveying serious harm.
    5. present: A student "was bitten" and the animal showed signs of "infection from rabies virus".
    6. present: It notes behavior consistent with rabies infection after a student was bitten.
    7. present: A student 'was bitten' and rabies infection is indicated, conveying harm.
    8. present: A student 'was bitten' and rabies infection is indicated, conveying harm.
    9. present: It says a student 'was bitten' and raises possible rabies infection.
    10. present: A student was bitten and the animal showed signs of 'rabies virus', conveying harm.
    11. present: A student was bitten and the animal showed signs of rabies infection.
    12. present: It states a student 'was bitten' and mentions rabies infection.
    13. present: A student was bitten and rabies infection is indicated, conveying harm.
    14. present: A student was bitten and rabies infection is cited, conveying harm.
    15. present: A student was bitten and the animal showed rabies infection, conveying harm.
    16. present: It states a student 'was bitten' and the animal likely carries rabies, conveying actual and potential harm.
    17. present: It says a student 'was bitten' and the animal showed signs of rabies infection, conveying serious health consequences.
    18. present: It states a student 'was bitten' and the animal showed signs of rabies, conveying real and potentially serious harm.
    19. present: It reports a student 'was bitten' and raises rabies infection, conveying harm to people.
    20. present: It states a student was bitten and the animal showed signs of rabies infection, conveying serious health harm.
    21. present: It states 'an undergraduate student was bitten' and raises rabies infection, conveying real harm.
    22. present: It says a student 'was bitten' and raises possible rabies infection, conveying harm to people.
    23. present: The rabies reference and a student 'bitten by a raccoon' convey serious health harm, prompting steps to 'protect yourself'.
    24. present: It reports a student 'was bitten' and signals rabies infection risk, conveying harm.
    25. present: It reports a student 'was bitten' and raises rabies infection, which conveys the harm the animal can cause.

Coded by Claude Opus 5.5

Systematic AI judgments with visible reasoning, not human-validated codings.

About this analysis
Context

Background

On the night of December 4, 2023, Kathleen Li '24 was bitten by a raccoon between Dod Hall and the Princeton University Art Museum construction site around 9:00 p.m. EST; a video she captured shows the animal darting under a fence and pouncing on her leg. Princeton issued a campus message subject-lined 'TIGERALERT: Raccoon Bite' the following day. Early the next morning a Hibben Road resident, blocks from campus, was attacked by a raccoon on their doorstep. Officials said both animals showed behaviors associated with rabies: chirping, unprovoked aggression, and no fear of humans, and that the student received post-exposure treatment while the resident was unharmed. The University coordinated with the Municipality of Princeton's Animal Control. The case shows how a wildlife-borne disease risk produces a branded campus alert (TigerAlert) with concrete reporting instructions, even though it falls outside Clery's crime framework.
Analysis

Key Findings

Princeton used its branded TigerAlert channel for a wildlife/rabies advisory subject-lined 'TIGERALERT: Raccoon Bite,' not a Clery timely warning
Two attacks within roughly twelve hours (a student near Dod Hall on December 4, 2023 and a resident on Hibben Road the next morning) both involved raccoons showing rabies-typical behavior
The bitten student received post-exposure rabies treatment, and the alert directed the community to call DPS at 609-258-1000 rather than approach the animal
Outcome
The student received post-exposure rabies treatment; the resident escaped injury. Princeton coordinated with municipal Animal Control to capture the animal and urged the community to avoid raccoons and report encounters to the Department of Public Safety.
Provenance

Sources

Every claim on this page is meant to be checkable. Open the links below (and the Verify this quote control under each confirmed alert) to read the original university, news, or archive page yourself. Hostnames are shown so you can see where you are going; archived copies survive when live pages move or disappear. See also our methodology.

  1. Student Paper
    Student captures her own raccoon attack on film - The Daily Princetonian
    dailyprincetonian.com
    archived copy
  2. News
    Princeton on high alert after possibly rabid raccoon attacks 2 people - CBS Philadelphia
    cbsnews.com
    archived copy
  3. News
    Rabies virus: NJ health officials warn after 2 raccoon attacks near Princeton University - 6abc Philadelphia
    6abc.com
    archived copy
  4. Official
    TigerAlert official archive - Princeton University (Alert ID 87108)
    princeton.apparmor.com
    archived copy
Cite this case

Campus Alert Archive. "Princeton University: Possibly rabid raccoon bites an undergraduate near Dod Hall; second attack next morning." Incident of December 4, 2023. Added May 2026; last updated September 2026. https://campusalertarchive.com/case/princeton-university-rabid-raccoon-2023-12-04/

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Alert text quoted on this page remains the work of the issuing institution; the archive is a secondary source.

Tags
wildliferaccoonrabiesadvisorynew-jerseyhealth-advisoryprinceton
Added May 2026Updated September 2026Via ingestion