Fox attacked woman several times on hiking trail

SAN MARCOS, Texas (KEYE) – While it’s not common for foxes to attack people, it happened four times on one trail in Texas over the weekend.

Michelle Danos was hiking the trails near the Purgatory Creek Natural area in San Marcos over the weekend when a fox suddenly appeared.

“I heard something in the brush, turned around. It was a fox walking, not running, not snarling, just walking towards me,” she said.

Then, all of a sudden, Danos said the fox attacked. She said she grabbed it with her hand and threw it.

“Then it came at me again and then I threw it on the ground. It came at me again,” she said.

Danos said the fox bit her hands and her fingers, but it didn’t stop there.

“By the fourth time I threw it into the trees, and it still came. Fifth time, I threw it in the cacti, and it came. Sixth time I was just wondering if anyone was going to hear me screaming for help,” Danos said.

Danos managed to get away, but not before the fox left its mark. Now, she’s walking with a crutch because her leg is still bleeding from Sunday’s attack.

“I ran screaming for help and I ran to a family. I asked them, call 911. They said, there’s already an ambulance in the parking lot for you,” she said.

Word of what happened traveled fast since Danos wasn’t the fox’s first victim of the day.

She’s one of four people the City of San Marcos said was attacked by a rabid fox Sunday near the Beatrice Dante and Ripheus trails.

“So right before me, someone got attacked and I heard a few people got attacked after me,” Danos said.

The attacks have health officials in the area concerned with people’s safety hiking there.

Madison McLarry with Hays County Public Health said their biggest concern is rabies.

“If you do progress through the symptoms of rabies, which can happen from a couple weeks to a couple months after exposure depending on where you’re bitten, if you’re showing symptoms, it’s almost always fatal,” McLarry said.

Danos got multiple rabies shots after the attack. She’s expected to make a full recovery.

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