UPDATE: No More Fox Encounters Reported

Bernards animal control officer Michelle Wysocki said on Friday she has received no other reports of fox encounters — or of problems with animals such as raccoons — since two reported fox attacks in the area of Ridge High School and the Homestead Village area on Dec. 29. A fox was destroyed by Bernards Township police on that day.

Wysocki said she has received notifications from residents who had seen a fox walk across their driveway or in their back yard. Other residents have stopped by the where she is based, to ask about the December incidents, she said.

Bernards Township police also said on Monday they have not received any new reports on problems with wildlife encounters.

Describing the encounters with the fox as an "isolated incident," the township earlier this month posted information on its website on how to co-exist with such wildlife, and what can be considered normal. The information — and Wysocki — said it cannot be considered unusual for those animals to venture out during the day in search of food, and even display "brazenness" if they are accustomed to seeing humans.

Wysocki said on Friday she has heard of no cases of attacks by any wildlife animals since the December incident.

A local woman reportedly received preventative treatment for rabies, and residents continue to call with concerns about local wildlife, following two separate incidents on Dec. 29 in which a fox first bit a pedestrian, and then apparently bit at the wheels of a baby stroller, according to the township's animal control officer and other sources.

The fox later was tracked to the area of the track and was destroyed by a township police officer following the second incident, according to both Wysocki and also

Wysocki said on Friday that she had advised the officer to dispose of the fox carcass rather than keeping it for testing because the animal had not come into contact with humans in the second incident. "Testing is not done unless an animal wild or domestic comes into direct contact," she said in an email on Friday morning.

Wysocki later said she had been informed on Dec. 30 by Morristown Memorial Hospital that a woman had been bitten by the fox, with direct exposure, on Dec. 29. That woman now is receiving preventative treatment for rabies as a precaution, she said.

However, Wysocki said the assumption cannot be made that the woman who was bitten came into contact with the same fox that later reportedly attacked the baby stroller.

"The fox ran away after coming into contact with the [first] individual which did not allow us to confirm any illness," Wysocki said of the first incident.

Anecdotal reports are that a neighbor was able to beat the fox and chase it away after it had bitten the woman, who reportedly had been walking in the vicinity of the Homestead Village neighborhood.

Township police said in early January they had received no report of the first incident that sent the woman to the hospital.

However, township police reported that at about 11:50 a.m. on Dec. 29, Patrol Officer William Seiple responded to the Ridge High School track in response to a complaint about a possible rabid fox.

The report said that upon arriving, the officer spoke to a Winding Lane woman who told him that a fox had attacked the baby carriage with which she was walking.

The resident told Seiple that she was not injured, police said. Wysocki later said the baby also did not come into contact with the fox.

Police said Seiple located the fox near the track and grandstand area. Seiple said in the police report he was able walk up to within 50 yards of the fox, at which time the fox ran directly at the officer.

Police said Seiple struck the fox with his baton, when the fox had closed in to within a few feet before him. The animal was destroyed after it was struck with the police baton, police reported. Both police and Wysocki said the officer contacted the animal control officer and, at her instruction, disposed of the fox carcass.

Other reports are that the second woman sprayed the fox with Mace spray after it reportedly attacked the wheels of the baby stroller, and that it was partially disabled when tracked down by the police officer.

Wysocki said on Friday she has had numerous calls from residents regarding the fox incidents.

Because wildlife is accustomed to approaching suburban homes in searching for food, Wysocki said it is not considered strange for such animals to come out in the daytime, or even to show limited fear of humans.

Responding to reports that raccoons also had been behaving strangely or aggressively in that area, Wysocki said as of Friday morning she had not been notified of any other incidents of fox or raccoons displaying signs of illness.

She said she considers the Dec. 29 incidents with the fox to be "isolated." However, she added she is continuing to monitor the area.

State policy for testing animals for rabies

According to Daniel Emmer, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, "Typically, if there is an incident where an animal bites a human or a pet/livestock, and is caught and killed, the animal would be sent to the state lab to test for rabies." 

However, Emmer added that if an animal is killed and there is no reason to suspect that the animal has bitten or exposed humans or domestic pets/livestock, then the local animal control officer does not need to send the animal to the state for rabies testing, "unless the local township is doing surveillance to see if rabid animals may be in the area."

If a person is bitten and the animal is highly suspected of being rabid, rabies post-exposure treatment would take place if testing of the animal is expected to take more than 24 to 48 hours, Emmer explained. "However, in most cases, post-exposure rabies treatment is not conducted until test results are confirmed," he said in an email.

With the incident as a reminder of its importance, Wysocki said she was expecting a large crowd at a free rabies shot clinic for dogs and cats, held earlier this month at the Bernards Township Public Works garage, 277 S. Maple Ave., in Basking Ridge. No appointment is necessary for periodic rabies clinics, according to the township health department.

The schedules free rabies clinics throughout the year within its member towns, Wysocki said. However, since the clinics are funded by the state, anyone can bring their pet, she said.

The township animal control officer can be reached at 908-204-3066.