Yosemite visitors rage after rabies case revealed months after infected bat found dead at famed camp

Yosemite National Park lovers are furious after officials waited months to reveal a dead bat found outside famed Curry Village had tested positive for rabies.

The bat found outside the camp’s showerhouse back in May tested positive for rabies, but the park only notified the public of the fatal viral disease with a Facebook post on Thursday.

“Wouldn’t someone bitten or scratched 3 months ago already be rabid and possibly even dead?” one person replied to the National Park Service’s post. “If someone contracted rabies from the bat way back on May 18, that person is likely dead by now,” another added.

“May?! Yeah anyone who contracted rabies in May and didn’t do anything about it is probably dead already,” a third said.

Anyone exposed to rabies can be infected in a matter of days to weeks, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Rabies is almost always fatal without immediate treatment.

No human contact with the bat is known, the National Park Service said. Rabies is typically spread through animal bites or scratches.

Still, the agency is urging “anyone who may have had direct contact with a bat in the Curry Village area on or around May 18 to contact the California Department of Health (CDPH) and a healthcare provider promptly to determine whether treatment is needed.”

Once those infected show symptoms, “there aren’t any effective treatments available,” according to the Cleveland Clinic. Initial signs of rabies can include weakness or discomfort, fever or headache, as well as discomfort, prickling or an itching sensation at the site of the bite, according to the CDC.

The last rabies-positive bat in Yosemite was discovered in July 2025.

Bats are often carriers of the rabies virus, as are raccoons, foxes, and skunks.

Park officials said Yosemite is home to “17 species of bats that provide ecological and economic benefits.”

“As part of routine park operations, deceased bats with no known human contact, are collected and later tested to monitor wildlife diseases that circulate naturally within bat populations. A very small percentage of bats tested from Yosemite National Park are positive for rabies each year,” officials said.

A California teacher died from rabies in 2024 after a bat apparently bit her inside her classroom.

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters