Pack of raccoons mauls 74-year-old woman

Taken to hospital with cuts from her neck to her legs — ‘she was filleted’

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Raccoons attack elderly woman
Oct. 5: A 74-year-old Florida woman is hospitalized after being attacked by a pack of raccoons. WFLA's Jeff Patterson reports.

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updated 7:36 p.m. ET Oct. 5, 2009

LAKELAND, Fla. - Animal control officers hope to trap a pack of raccoons that mauled a 74-year-old woman who tried to chase them from her yard.

The sheriff in Polk County, east of Tampa, said Gretchen Whitted fell when five raccoons surrounded and attacked her Sunday. She was taken to a hospital with extensive cuts from her neck to her legs.

"We're not talking about a lot of little bites here," Sheriff Grady Judd said. "She was filleted."

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A neighbor called for help after hearing the woman's cries and seeing her covered in blood.

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Whitted was treated for rabies, though officials doubt the animals were infected.

Fire crews flooded nearby drains to drive the animals out, but none appeared. Animal control officers hope to catch them using cat food and sardines as bait.