White River Junction
They also said the bobcat had bitten a man in his car in the Hartford area on Tuesday night; that victim sought medical treatment for rabies only after learning of the attacks on others the following day, and could have died otherwise, state officials said.
The bobcat was a 25-pound adult female and tested positive for rabies, said Col. Jason Batchelder, director of enforcement for the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. The women suffered injuries considered to be serious, but not life-threatening, officials said.
The man was bitten after he stopped to take a photograph of the bobcat on Tuesday and the animal jumped into his car. The attack occurred in the same general area where the two women later were attacked, according to a news release from the state Fish and Wildlife Department.
“All of the individuals bitten are being treated with post-exposure medical treatment, which can prevent rabies,” the news release said.
After seeing media coverage of the bobcat attacks, the man went to the hospital to get treatment for rabies.
“We all appreciate the rapid coverage of this story by the media, which may very well have prevented the man from coming down with rabies, which is almost always fatal,” Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Louis Porter said in the news release.
Fish and Wildlife officials are not searching for additional bobcats and are not concerned that others might be rabid, Batchelder said.
The first reported victim was attacked while sitting on a porch outside her apartment complex on Candlelight Terrace in Wilder. She was bitten on her legs and lower back. A second woman was bitten on the hand near a state office building on Prospect Street in downtown White River Junction about an hour later.
As wardens were investigating the first attack and trying to track the animal, a report came in about the second. A game warden shot the bobcat after it charged at him from underneath a parked car.
Raccoons are the animals most likely to get rabies in Vermont, according to the news release. From 2005-17, 70 bobcats were tested for rabies in the state. Only five had the virus. The bobcat killed in Hartford on Wednesday was the first to test positive for rabies this year.
Residents should make sure their animals have their rabies vaccines, according to Fish and Wildlife and Vermont Department of Health officials. They also should refrain from picking up wild and stray animals, even if they are young. Wild animals should not be captured and turned into pets.
“It isn’t always apparent from looking at it that an animal has rabies, but any animal that is acting strangely or aggressively should also be avoided and reported,” the news release said. “The rabies virus is transmitted only when it is introduced into a bite or scratch wound, open cuts on the skin, or onto mucous membranes like the mouth and eyes.”
Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.
