'Rabid' raccoons turn out to be drunk on fermented crabapples

Police in West Virginia have apprehended masked bandits who were drunkenly acting up in town -- but they weren't humans.

Neighbors had reported two raccoons that they thought were rabid to police, but it turned out they were just drunk on fermented crabapples, the Milton Police Department wrote on its Facebook page.

Police captured the raccoons on Nov. 11. and 12, and, after learning they were just drunk, released them back into the woods unharmed.

However, police warned that not all disoriented raccoons are drunk and the animals can pose a danger to humans.

"If you see a staggering and disoriented raccoon, please do not approach it," police wrote in the post. "It could be sick, so call us and we’ll take care of it."