Teresa in Az....Be Careful in your running! Andrew....
A warning from the National Park Service: Beware of rabid foxes. A Tucson man is being treated for
rabies after he was attacked by a fox over the weekend at Saguaro National Park East.
With more than 150 miles of hiking trails, the park is one of southern Arizona's great escapes. But
on Sunday, the park's tranquility took a terrifying turn for a jogger.
"He was running down the trail, he didn't see the fox, it lept up and bit him in the thigh," says B
ob Love, the chief ranger for Saguaro National Park.
He says the fox didn't stop after that first bite -- it went on the attack until the jogger hit it
with a rock and it ran away.
"I've never heard of fox attacking anyone," says Dave Bushell, who makes his living in the outdoors
by shooting and producing wildlife videos for Gorilla Productions.
Bushell keeps a close eye on how animals react to his presence. He says the problem with rabies is
that it makes animals do unusual things that don't make sense.
Ranger Love advises people to be extra cautious, be aware of their surroundings, and report any
animals acting strangely.
Following Sunday's fox attack, the Tanque Verde ridge trail was closed for the day as park rangers
tried to find the suspected rabid fox. They never did locate it and feel it has moved out of the
area. The trail head is now back open.
The jogger is going through rabies treatment.