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A 3-year-old child sustained minor injuries in a meeting with a fox this week in Ferguson Township.
Police Chief Chris Albright said the red fox, which was found and euthanized by officers, tested positive for rabies.
The child was playing in a backyard in the Abington Circle area Wednesday afternoon when the fox approached, Albright said. Lack of fear and aggression are considered unusual behaviors and potential signs of rabies in some wildlife.
The child was scratched by the fox, but was otherwise without, according to Albright. The fox also came to one officer who responded to the scene before returning. Albright said officers immediately recognized that the fox was possibly rabble.
After an officer shot and killed the fox, it was sent to a laboratory for testing, where rabies was confirmed.
“Please avoid contact with wild or stray animals,” said a release from the Ferguson Township Police Department. “If you see an animal and they exhibit abnormal behaviors, such as excitability, lack of fear or aggression, they may have rabies.”
Township residents who see an animal exhibiting such signs should notify the Ferguson Township Police Department at (814) 237-1172 or the Pennsylvania Game Commission at (570) 398-4744.
In an area like the Center Region with a variety of wildlife, rabies animals are not uncommon, Mike Steingraber, state game department for the North Central region, told StateCollege.com in 2017 after a rabid fox attacked two people in College Township.
“We have rabies in our area. We’ve had this here for a long time and we’ll probably have it a lot longer,” he said. “It’s just something that exists here in a community like State College that is pretty diverse with wildlife. You’ll also have wildlife diseases and rabies is a part of that.”
For more information on rabies in Pennsylvania: www.pgc.pa.gov/Wildlife/Wildlife-RelatedDiseases/Pages/Rabies.aspx
