When foxes attack, be careful

Got a call today on a fox. I guess a fox had attacked and bitten a lady yesterday, broke the skin. Today a man from a tree service, at the business, had gotten bitten on the ankle or foot, but did not break the skin, perhaps a few hundred yards from the first attack. I got the call. The plan was to film a little and carry a potato hook, just in case. Knowing the history, I should have been prepared but forgot. I was poking around the shed without much thought to the original plan, moving some trash cans when I heard movement under the shed, oops. In a second a gray fox came charging out from under the building straight at me. At nearly 65 I can still move pretty fast when pressured, though I did end up with a pulled hamstring. The fox was on me, but I got away unscathed, looked back and noticed he had stopped and was rolling around, not looking well. Went back to the truck in a few seconds, grabbed the potato hook and headed for him, thinking I would just walk up on him and crack him as he was acting pretty sick. He saw me coming and again turned and headed straight at me. Managed to give him a couple of good shots, game over with the modified potato hook with extended handle, a close call. We have had a lot of rabies in this area for years, so best to be taking it more seriously. We also have distemper. The fox will be tested. In the past I have seen disoriented foxes with distemper, but none so aggressive as this one.

I've dealt with a lot of aggressive grays in this area. None have been sick. Never a red.

The three I have encountered were likewise grays. Two tested positive for distemper, acting more disoriented than aggressive, now waiting on this one. Yes grays are tough little buggers, east coast to west coast, lot of heart and attitude, but this was had issues, rolling around in the lawn, just not right. Hope there will be some test results to see just what his problem was.

We have had Gray Fox with rabies attack people locally. Not a common thing, but a couple times every other year or so. Never a Red Fox, always Grays, and they are quite predictable, attacking very quickly and biting anything that moves. Usually when we have an attack, there are multiple victim's being bitten, as someone tries to help, the Fox will attack them also. One I responded to years back had attacked a group of young children in a small swimming pool, biting numerous children before the neighbor killed it with a shovel. It was a lactating female that came back positive, and we went out to try and locate any pups left alive to euthanize them for the health dept. Never did find her den, and they suspected before she had attacked the children, she most likely would have killed the young also. Glad you didn't get bit Jim, I would be very surprised if that one does not come back positive. It acted exactly how ours do.

I would like to add that Mrs. Comstock ( Judy ) should be extra cautious around Jim for the next couple of weeks. If he tries to

bite, a couple of raps with the potato hook should settle him right down.

Had a few calls with grey's acting strange, one I found curled around a small tree in the yard when I Showed up, client said it looked sick & on another call, found a grey dead under the clients car, he said its been hanging around a few days acting sick. both tested positive for distemper. A few years ago, we had a grey that had chased two people up the stairs to their apartment, bit both people, when D.E.C. arrived, they killed it, tested positive for rabies. I guess they get more aggressive with rabies

Great to get the feedback. Those of us in NY have been dealing with rabies for many years. I thought rabies might come and go, but it just seems to linger, always there, reducing coon numbers greatly in many areas. You are right about how aggressive these grey fox are. I had a heads up but still was taken by surprise. After moving one trash can I heard the fox coming toward me under the building and he was on me in a second, determined. Definitely keeps your attention. At least this one was sick enough to be slower than a healthy fox, falling down behind me, providing enough time to get the long handled potato hook. As sick as he appeared I was again surprised to see him focus and come barreling straight at me like he did the second time. I should have brought the salmon net and wore heavy boots instead of sneakers. At least they were running sneaks.

Got your pre exposure Rabies Shots?

Jim, your article in the Post Star today made me chuckle, could just see you & Mr. Sears running away from that fox with your sneakers on

Post Star- http://poststar.com/news/local/fox-kille...43b4bfc7e8.html

Yup, have had some rabies shots over the years for exposure and doc said the titer was good this spring, but I think if you are bitten by an animal known to have rabies they still give you another shot. Never have heard of a "touch of rabies," bad stuff. They got the article close but the canine distemper I mentioned to them was in the past. I have had a rabid raccoon in our yard full of porcupine quills and a rabid skunk that got in with a neighbors dog. I have seen other sick coon on this road at times and neighbors have killed rabid foxes here too. I just tell people if they encounter a coon that smells like a skunk or is full of quills, give him some room and kill it. The other animals I saw were sick but non aggressive. Some rabid animals can be passive, type of rabies or stage? and from the other day, some surely are very aggressive.

Just got the call from D.E.C, fox tested positive for rabies, but I don't think anyone doubted it.

Ongoing rabies. They say the number of cases is not hight but last Thursday a woman a few miles from the fox attacks was attacked by a woodchuck. It drove her into the house and clawed at the glass door trying to get in, but ran off before they could find it. Rabies came to our area perhaps 15 years ago and is the reason there are so few raccoons still. The coon numbers fell off and have never really recovered.

This happened this week. http://www.wdbj7.com/news/local/roanoke-girl-bit-by-fox-at-daycare/33686024
Also had 3 cases of raccoon rabies in April this year. Every year we seem to have confirmed rabies cases in the major rabies vector animals. Not huge numbers, but spread through out the state.