New Hampshire Authorities Hunt Aggressive Wild Animal Linked To Attacks

Authorities in New Hampshire are hunting for a mysterious animal terrorizing locals. The Lebanon Police Department has received three reports of attacks, all appearing to be the same wild animal, in the Centerra Park area since August 30. These individuals described the creature as unusually aggressive, with some suggesting it could be either a gray fox or a fisher, a carnivorous member of the weasel family. At this time, Lebanon Police Officers have not personally observed or encountered the animal, and therefore we cannot confirm what type of animal is involved. Surveillance footage of one of the attacks captured the animal charging from a wooded area and repeatedly attacking a driver in a parking lot before fleeing. It appeared to have a long tail and slim body as it attacked the man's feet. While authorities scramble to identify the animal, they have warned locals that such aggressive behavior in a wild animal can be due to rabies. The Lebanon Police Department will continue to monitor the Centerra Park area and coordinate with the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department as appropriate. Anyone who encounters an aggressive wild animal should maintain a safe distance and contact Police. Two of the three attacks were reported on September 1. The LPD is warning everyone in the Centerra Park area to be cautious, especially when walking near wooded, brush-covered or other areas where wildlife may be present. The footage of the attack shows the animal rushing toward a driver moments after he steps out of a vehicle. The driver attempts to keep the animal back with an object held in their hands, but the creature repeatedly leaps forward and eventually tears it away. After briefly dropping the item, the animal attacks again and clamps onto the person's leg as they struggle to dislodge it. The driver finally manages to throw the creature aside before another person runs over to help. The animal retreats beneath the truck and then races back toward the nearby woods as the recording ends. LPD Chief Phillip Roberts told KMBC: It is concerning because of the animal attacking people. That is usually indicative of something being wrong with the animal, most likely rabies. And then, you know, the fact that it is coming out and scratching and biting at people. That is obviously a concern to us. Police said they are working with Fish and Game officials to try to locate the animal and determine whether it is sick. The string of wild animal attacks comes a week after three baby goats at a North Carolina mobile petting zoo tested positive for rabies. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said that the baby goats that traveled to 10 petting zoos across the state this summer tested positive for rabies, a nearly 100 percent fatal condition that spreads to humans through infected animal bites. Rabies is almost always fatal in mammals, including people, unless medications to prevent infections are given before symptoms develop. Authorities said they were first notified of potential rabies exposure among four baby goats at mobile petting zoo Farm Adventures on August 27. The department believes the goats were likely exposed to rabies by a skunk that had entered the pen where they were kept in late July. Lab tests confirmed the rabies virus in three of the four goats on August 28.

Officials say the fourth goat never got tested but was assumed to be carrying the virus anyway. That decision hangs heavy over a small community in Harmony, North Carolina. The department is urging anyone who stepped foot at the zoo or any of its other locations between July 28 and August 27 to call local health officials immediately. They need to know if treatment is required before symptoms even show up.

'The petting zoo held off-site events involving children and elderly individuals across multiple counties within that time frame,' state officials said. Those words carry real weight for families who took their grandchildren or grandparents out for a visit back then. One wrong move could have put an entire generation at risk.