Edmonton

Bat tests positive for rabies in Jasper National Park

Alberta Health Services and Parks Canada say a bat has tested positive for rabies in Jasper National Park.

A hiker spotted the bat on a hiking trail

Rabies is most common in skunks, raccoons and bats. (Jordi Segers/Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative)

A bat has tested positive for rabies in Jasper National Park, according to Alberta Health Services and Parks Canada.

AHS said a hiker reported the bat on the Valley of Five Lakes trail, just south of Jasper, last weekend.

Parks Canada staff investigated and captured the bat.

A number of bats, and occasionally other mammals, test positive for rabies in Alberta every year. Officials warn that animals behaving unusually or out of character may be rabies carriers.