This friendly face is an albino raccoon caught Thursday in West Knox County, Knoxville. Randy Wolfe, owner of a business called Varmint Busters Wildlife Management Services (!!!), says this is the fourth one he's nabbed in more than two decades. Sadly, they killed the lovely critter. From Knoxville News Sentinel:
Wolfe said because of an overpopulation of raccoons and the presence of raccoon-strain rabies in East Tennessee, TWRA regulations forced him to euthanize the albino raccoon. Raccoons can carry diseases harmful to humans and other mammals, including rabies, parvo and raccoon roundworm.
Exceptions to this policy include raccoon mothers and the young, which may be sent to licensed wildlife rehabilitation centers, Wolfe said.
"Rare albino raccoon captured in West Knox"
