Tucson woman shares story after getting attacked by possibly rabid fox

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – It was a normal day off for Jorie O’Brien.

Living on Tucson’s eastside, she took advantage of the short drive to Mount Lemmon and decided to go for a hike.

About 20 minutes into the trek, Jorie noticed something moving in the brush near the Cypress Picnic Area.

“About 40 feet away,” O’Brien started, “I saw a gray fox crest a ridge, go down a gulley, and then come up the ridge next to that, kind of walking through the manzanitas there.”

Southern Arizona has seen a rash of possibly rabid animal incidents in the last few months.

After slowly creeping up to her, the fox began to attack.

“It kind of lunged toward my feet,” she said. “At that point, I started kicking it in the head, and that’s when it started biting me, biting my boot. I think I kicked it three or four times, but that did not deter it either.”

O’Brien only suffered a scrape to her leg, but had to endure six rabies shots in and around the injury. The fox was tracked down and had to be killed.

“We killed the fox to ensure public safety,” said Mark Hart, from Arizona Game and Fish. “In cases like this, the faster we get to the scene, the more likely we are to get the offending animal. But perhaps more important, we can’t test for rabies without the dead fox, or dead whatever.”

Rabies is encephalitis of the brain, meaning the animal’s brain has to be tested.

Arizona Game and Fish expects results from the Health Department early next week. But whether the animal shows signs of rabies or not, you always need to protect yourself.

“You should fight back and seek refuge,” Hart said.

However, the animal that attacked Jorie isn’t the only one to be suspected of this year alone. In fact, rabies has shown itself several times over the years.

“The last time we had a bona fide rabies outbreak in southeast Arizona was around 2016, 2017,” Hart said. “So we may be in a year where we see an uptick, but no one has declared an outbreak.”

For O’Brien, she scheduled her remaining rabies vaccines and is in good spirits. But she said she won’t be heading to the Cypress area anytime soon.

She said she is happy to be OK and shares that animals will often leave you alone, but it’s always good to take extra precautions.

“They’re extremely cute,” O’Brien said. “They’re not terrifying looking by any stretch of the imagination, but the fact that it started heading towards me and getting closer and closer, I started screaming at it.”

“99 percent of foxes, wildlife, etc., aren’t going to attack you or lunge at you,” O’Brien said. “As long as you keep a respectful distance, like I tried to, there’s not going to be a problem.”

If you’re heading to a hiking trail this Easter weekend, be aware of your surroundings.

If you notice an animal with erratic behavior, or foaming at the mouth, keep a safe distance, and alert a park ranger or Game and Fish right away.

Be sure to subscribe to the 13 News YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@13newskold

Copyright 2024 13 News. All rights reserved.