LINCOLNTON, N.C. — A woman in Lincolnton is recovering Friday after one of her exotic pets attacked her inside her home.
Susie Ladouceur said the male kinkajou attacked her after she stepped into the exotic pet cage she keeps in her Lincolnton home.
"I was cleaning the cage and he just jumped down on the back of my neck grabbed my head and I tried to pull him off and he bit me on my hands and the side of my arms," Ladouceur said.
The bandages are visible on both of her arms. She said most of injuries are from scratches by the male Kinkajou, which she recently added to her home. The animal hadn't had its nails trimmed.
Animal Control staff said the woman has three of the animals in her home on Hoke Street. She has the proper permits for the exotic animals.
"I wouldn't have one,” said neighbor Chevelle Badeaux.
Badeaux watched as paramedics took Ladouceur to an ambulance on a stretcher this morning.
Neighbors aren't sure the exotic pet should be allowed in the city limits.
"If they got out I'd be concerned about my grandson. Worried he'd get bit or something," neighbor Daphyne Holland said.
A Lincoln Animal Control official said Ladouceur has the proper permits for the exotic pets which they did not remove from the home.
Ladouceur said the kinkajou is not native to the United States but is related to the raccoon.
She thinks the male that attacked became territorial because two of the females are pregnant.
"Kinkajous are loving. They love attention. They're very playful. They're loyal and will follow you everywhere," said Ladouceur, who is breeding the animals right now inside her home.
Once they're about four weeks old, she can sell them for as much as $2,500 apiece.
The kinkajou is a rainforest mammal from Central and South America that are related raccoons.
Faherty is working to get more details about this developing story. He will have the latest on Eyewitness News.
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