April 04, 2024

Raccoon attacks two guests in line for a roller coaster at Hersheypark

The March 29 incident occurred outside the sooperdooperLooper. The animal was not captured, but it has not returned to the park.

By Kristin Hunt
PhillyVoice Staff

Cameron Clark/Imagn Content Services, LLC

Hersheypark's opening day was marred by a raccoon attack. As seen in video published by TMZ, the animal attacked guests waiting in line for the sooperdooperLooper on March 29.

A "young, frightened" raccoon attacked at least two guests waiting to board the sooperdooperLooper at Hersheypark last week, park staff confirmed.

The incident occurred March 29 on Hersheypark's opening day for the 2024 season. As seen in footage published by TMZ, the animal darted between guests standing in the cordoned lanes leading up to the roller coaster, eliciting screams and stampedes out of the way. At one point in the video, the raccoon appears to latch onto the foot of a girl near the railing.

MORE: Bobwhite quails return to Pennsylvania for first time in decades

"It's biting her foot!" the person filming yells. "It got her shoe!"

Quinn C. Bryner, director of public relations for Hershey Entertainment & Resorts, said two people were taken to the hospital "out of an abundance of caution," and that onsite treatment indicated the injuries were minor and "consistent with scratches from an animal."

We can speak only to the onsite treatment that would be typically classified as a minor injury - generally consistent with scratches from an animal.

"This is the first incident that we can recall of what appeared to be a young, frightened raccoon acting in this manner at Hersheypark," Bryner continued via email. "Guest safety is and will always be our top priority at Hersheypark. As such, we have a full complement of public safety and health professionals on property who responded quickly to render necessary care to the two people impacted."

Though the raccoon apparently ran off before park staffers could catch it, Bryner said the park has "extensive fencing" and that "planning is in place to capture the raccoon should it return."