WOOLWICH, Maine (AP) — A pair of foxes attacked a man in a community that neighbors a city where more than a dozen residents and pets were attacked by rabid foxes last year.
James Collins, 79, of Woolwich, said he was using a motorized trimmer in his yard last week when he was knocked to the ground by fox. He struck that fox until it fled, and whacked a second attacking fox with a cane.
“For some reason, they were very aggressive and weren’t scared of humans,” he told the Times Record.
He was bitten several times on his arms and legs and received medical treatment for rabies.
Collins’ experience is similar to the ones experienced by the 18 Bath residents and pets who were attacked by rabid foxes last year when the neighboring city saw a rabies outbreak.
The Maine Center for Disease Control confirmed 16 cases of rabies in Bath last year. That’s compared to two the previous year.
The sudden rise in rabies cases led the city to partner with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to trap species known to carry rabies, such as gray and red foxes, skunks and raccoons.
Twenty-four raccoons and four skunks were caught and euthanized, but none of the animals were carrying rabies.
