'Young, frightened raccoon' leaves 2 injured at Hersheypark as guests scream and run

Two people suffered minor injuries from a raccoon attack at Hersheypark on Thursday.

The chocolate themed amusement park had an unwanted guest who disturbed the peace at one of their amusement park rides.

In a video of the attack, the raccoon is seen running in between guests causing a commotion. The guests screamed and moved out the raccoon’s path as the animal ran in and out of the long lines.

Director of Public Relations at Hersheypark, Quinn Bryner, confirmed that the attack did happen at the amusement park last month.

“As a park with a long and established history, guest safety is and will always be our top priority at Hersheypark,” Briner said. “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.”

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What happened to the two people attacked by the raccoon?

At the time of the incident, Hersheypark employees responded to the area to help those who were impacted by the attack.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we did transport those impacted to a local hospital for observation,” Bryner said.

The amusement park said the individuals involved did not have any serious injures from the attack but were transported to a hospital as a safety precaution.

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

Is this the first animal attack at Hersheypark?

Hersheypark said that this is the first ever animal attack that the park has encountered.

“This is the first incident that we can recall of what appeared to be a young, frightened raccoon acting in this manner. We do have extensive fencing to help prevent this type of incident from occurring,” Bryner said.

What has the park done since the attack?

For the safety of its guests, Hersheypark is planning to continue to keep an eye on the area for any more unwanted guests.

“Since the incident, we have actively monitored the area in question and have partnered with animal experts to help relocate as necessary,” Bryner said.

Ahjané Forbes is a reporter on the National Trending Team at USA TODAY. Ahjané covers breaking news, car recalls, crime, health, lottery and public policy stories. Email her at aforbes@gannett.com. Follow her on Instagram, Threads and X @forbesfineest.