Woman Attacked By Rabid Fox In North Jersey: Animal Control

BLAIRSTOWN, NJ — A Blairstown woman was attacked by a rabid gray fox over the weekend, Blairstown animal control officer Scott Hendricks said.

The woman was bitten twice by the fox after the fox killed one of the cats on her Golden Chain Road farm, Hendricks told NJ.com. The woman had gone out to the barn to feed her cats when she found the fox with the dead cat, Hendricks said. The fox spotted her and attacked her.

Hendricks told the paper that the woman's daughter heard noise from the barn and went out to try and help her mom. The daughter threw an ax at the fox; the fox tried to bite the ax and then charged at the daughter, Hendricks said.

The daughter and a passerby used a shovel to knockout, and then kill, the fox.

The fox was sent to the state laboratory for testing and the corpse came back positive for rabies, Hendricks said; the woman is now being treated for rabies.

Gray foxes are fairly typical across North America. They're much shorter than red foxes, standing at about 14 inches tall. They weigh between 6-15 pounds, and usually have salt and pepper coloring with a black-tipped tail.

Hendricks shared these special notes about gray foxes:

• The gray fox is the only member of the dog family that can climb trees-sometimes called the
• "tree fox" or the "cat fox"
• They are primarily nocturnal, but may forage during the day
• The female may den in a hollow tree or dig a den. The den may be as long as 75 ft. and can have 10 or more exits
• Gray foxes mate in February or March
• Young are born in April or May
• 3 to 7 pups are dark brown and born blind
• A pungent odor, similar to skunks
• Vocalizations include yapping, howling, barks, whimpers and screams
• They descend from trees by backing down like a cat or bear