{
  "id": "2022-04-27-university-of-texas-austin-raccoon-bites",
  "slug": "university-of-texas-austin-raccoon-bites-2022-04-27",
  "institution": {
    "name": "University of Texas at Austin",
    "shortName": "UT Austin",
    "state": "TX",
    "type": "public-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "UT Campus Safety",
    "enrollment": 51000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2022-04-27",
    "type": "other",
    "cleryCategory": "advisory",
    "headline": "Campus alert, April 27, 2022",
    "summary": "On April 27, 2022, UT Austin's Office of Campus Safety [warned students to stay away from raccoons after three students were bitten and required rabies vaccinations](https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/ut-austin-students-raccoons/269-5d5e28d1-62db-40b7-a386-6296ccd7cc91). The animal was believed to be living [outside the McCombs School of Business and Perry-Castaneda Library (PCL) area](https://www.kxan.com/news/education/ut-issues-raccoon-warning-on-forty-acres/) on the main campus, known as the Forty Acres.",
    "outcome": "Three students received precautionary rabies vaccinations. UT advised the community not to approach, feed, or pet the raccoon and to seek medical care immediately if bitten or scratched.",
    "resolution": "confirmed-threat"
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "Recently, we have seen an increase of incidents involving raccoons and the UT student population. Unfortunately, these interactions have resulted in three students being bitten by a raccoon and receiving rabies vaccinations as a precautionary measure.\n(Thread) https://t.co/AiNPHJw9wh",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/UTAustinOEM/status/1519403071633305600",
      "sourceDescription": "@UTAustinOEM (formerly @UTAustinSafety) on X (verbatim); the official post the cited Spectrum News article embeds as a twitter-tweet",
      "annotations": [
        "Lane B PRE-2024 flip 2026-10-14: the cited Spectrum News article embeds the official UT Austin Office of Campus Safety post as a twitter-tweet (embed attributes it to @UTAustinSafety; the same account, author id 1012036197559029763, is now @UTAustinOEM; status 1519403071633305600, 2022-04-27 19:48:16 UTC = 2:48 p.m. CDT). Two independent X API reads and CDN syndication agree on the 284-char text (the thread's head post, including the '(Thread)' marker and trailing t.co). Replaced the 312-char text whose closing do-not-feed/pet/photograph sentence was reconstructed with the official product. SPN not attempted (Lane A CLOSED); archiveUrl null.",
        "CBS Austin quotes the first two sentences of the @utaustinsafety post word for word; the final do-not-feed/pet/photograph instruction is reconstructed from how outlets described the rest of the warning, so the message stays unconfirmed.",
        "The warning was posted on the Office of Campus Safety's Twitter account (@utaustinsafety) rather than sent as an emergency text, consistent with its advisory (non-Clery) status.",
        "PCL refers to the Perry-Castaneda Library, the campus's main library, named in source coverage as near the raccoon's location.",
        "Issued as a discretionary safety notice rather than a Clery timely warning, since an animal bite is not a Clery-reportable crime."
      ],
      "characterCount": 284,
      "timestamp": "2022-04-27T14:48:16-05:00"
    }
  ],
  "context": "In late April 2022, UT Austin's Office of Campus Safety [told students to beware of raccoons after a surge of biting incidents on the main campus, the Forty Acres](https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/ut-austin-students-raccoons/269-5d5e28d1-62db-40b7-a386-6296ccd7cc91). The warning, [posted on April 27, 2022, said three students were bitten and received rabies vaccinations as a precaution](https://www.kxan.com/news/education/ut-issues-raccoon-warning-on-forty-acres/), and that a raccoon was believed to be living near the McCombs School of Business and the Perry-Castaneda Library (PCL). Officials [suggested the raccoon may have felt threatened by close contact, particularly if it had young](https://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/south-texas-el-paso/news/2022/04/28/3-ut-students-bitten-by-a-raccoon-on-campus), and urged students not to approach, feed, or pet wildlife and to seek medical care promptly if bitten. The case illustrates how persistent urban wildlife on a dense campus can generate a discretionary safety advisory rather than a Clery timely warning.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "Three UT Austin students were bitten by a raccoon and received precautionary rabies vaccinations, prompting an April 27, 2022 Office of Campus Safety warning",
    "The raccoon was believed to be living near the McCombs School of Business and the Perry-Castaneda Library on the Forty Acres",
    "The notice was a discretionary safety advisory, outside the Clery Act's crime-based timely-warning framework"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "UT Austin students warned to stay away from raccoons after recent biting incidents - KVUE",
      "url": "https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/ut-austin-students-raccoons/269-5d5e28d1-62db-40b7-a386-6296ccd7cc91",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Biting raccoon warning issued on Forty Acres - KXAN Austin",
      "url": "https://www.kxan.com/news/education/ut-issues-raccoon-warning-on-forty-acres/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "3 UT students bitten by a raccoon on campus - Spectrum News",
      "url": "https://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/south-texas-el-paso/news/2022/04/28/3-ut-students-bitten-by-a-raccoon-on-campus",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "UT Austin Office of Campus Safety warns community of raccoon after three students bitten - CBS Austin",
      "url": "https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/ut-office-of-campus-safety-warns-community-of-raccoon-after-three-students-bitten",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "type": "official-social",
      "url": "https://x.com/UTAustinOEM/status/1519403071633305600",
      "title": "@UTAustinOEM (formerly @UTAustinSafety) status 1519403071633305600 (2022-04-27 raccoon-bite warning, thread head)",
      "accessedDate": "2026-10-14"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "wildlife",
    "raccoon",
    "rabies",
    "advisory",
    "texas",
    "health-advisory",
    "ut-austin"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-28",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-10-14",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}