Mike McDonald
New member
It could happen to you too. This happened right in my backyard.
Remember to pack your pistol to your next family reunion or religious retreat.
Tuesday, 25 December 2001
Rabid bobcat bites two men
Property owner kills it in Huachucas
By Ignacio Ibarra
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
A rabid bobcat attacked a dog and bit and scratched two men attending a family reunion at a Baptist camp in the Huachuca Mountains south of Sierra Vista Saturday before it was shot and killed by another area resident, said a spokesman for the Arizona Game and Fish Department .
Brad Fulk, a wildlife manager for Game and Fish, said the two men were attacked by the bobcat about 6 p.m., each receiving bites and scratches on their thighs. One was scratched on the forearm.
Several hours later, the bobcat got into a fight with a dog at the home of a resident in the area and that property owner shot the cat.
The men were taken by private vehicle to the Sierra Vista Regional Hospital where they were treated with antibiotics and released Saturday. Monday afternoon both men began a course of injections for the treatment of rabies.
On Monday, Arnold Humble, 68, a retired missionary worker who recently returned to the United States from Indonesia, and nephew Jim Walker of Washington were notified that tests conducted by the University of Arizona's Veterinary Diagnostic Lab in Tucson showed the animal was rabid.
"We're in the process of contacting everybody, the state health department, the county . . . and everyone who came in contact with the bobcat," said Fulk.
Confrontations between the shy, nocturnal bobcat and humans are rare, Fulk said. However, the attack began with a fight with a dog, and that is not uncommon, he said.
The animal weighed about 15 to 18 pounds and appeared to be in good health.
"Seeing how it had rabies, I'm not surprised at its actions. However, I am surprised it had rabies, because it's very unusual for a bobcat to contract rabies," said Fulk.
Rabies is not uncommon in Southern Arizona, particularly among bats and skunks, Fulk said. Bobcats do fight and occasionally fight skunks, he said.
Southern Arizona has shown high incidences of rabies in recent years, particularly in the summer months, Fulk said. But he could not immediately say how many cases had been reported and for what types of animals.
Cochise County Health Department officials could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon.
Cheryl Morgan of Goodyear said the bobcat initially attacked a 45-pound dog being walked by her sister, Yvonne Humble, on a trail at the camp.
Yvonne, who was wearing motorcycle boots, kicked the cat and drove it away, she said, but as it fled, it attacked her father, Arnold Humble, as he came up the trail.
She is also being treated for rabies and her dog has been treated for the bites suffered in the attack. Yvonne said her dog's rabies vaccinations were current and he appears to be recovering.
"My dad's like 68, and it just ran right for him with its jaws open and grabbed onto his leg," she said. "He has puncture marks all over his legs, front and back.
"A few minutes later my cousin was coming up from the campfire . . . it got him on the leg from behind," she said. "When he reached down to grab it, it sunk its teeth into his arm. He got it the worst. I'm a nurse, so I cleaned them up, and he was pretty bloody."
She said the cat then ran into the brush and disappeared in the dark.
"What made us so concerned is that it just wouldn't back down," she said
Carol Capas, a spokeswoman for the Cochise County Sheriff's Office, said deputies and a Game and Fish officer searched the area briefly but were unable to locate the cat.
Several hours later, the bobcat attacked a dog at a residence about a half-mile away. A Border Patrol agent responded to a call from the landowner. The man apparently shot and killed the bobcat, she said.
The cat's body was recovered by members of the Humble family from a Dumpster Sunday morning, and they turned it over to the Game and Fish Sunday.
Larry Early, director of the Huachuca Oaks Baptist Camp, said to his knowledge it is the first such incident at the camp in 30 years of operation.
"It was a freak thing, even the EMTs said they'd never seen anything like it," he said.
Remember to pack your pistol to your next family reunion or religious retreat.
Tuesday, 25 December 2001
Rabid bobcat bites two men
Property owner kills it in Huachucas
By Ignacio Ibarra
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
A rabid bobcat attacked a dog and bit and scratched two men attending a family reunion at a Baptist camp in the Huachuca Mountains south of Sierra Vista Saturday before it was shot and killed by another area resident, said a spokesman for the Arizona Game and Fish Department .
Brad Fulk, a wildlife manager for Game and Fish, said the two men were attacked by the bobcat about 6 p.m., each receiving bites and scratches on their thighs. One was scratched on the forearm.
Several hours later, the bobcat got into a fight with a dog at the home of a resident in the area and that property owner shot the cat.
The men were taken by private vehicle to the Sierra Vista Regional Hospital where they were treated with antibiotics and released Saturday. Monday afternoon both men began a course of injections for the treatment of rabies.
On Monday, Arnold Humble, 68, a retired missionary worker who recently returned to the United States from Indonesia, and nephew Jim Walker of Washington were notified that tests conducted by the University of Arizona's Veterinary Diagnostic Lab in Tucson showed the animal was rabid.
"We're in the process of contacting everybody, the state health department, the county . . . and everyone who came in contact with the bobcat," said Fulk.
Confrontations between the shy, nocturnal bobcat and humans are rare, Fulk said. However, the attack began with a fight with a dog, and that is not uncommon, he said.
The animal weighed about 15 to 18 pounds and appeared to be in good health.
"Seeing how it had rabies, I'm not surprised at its actions. However, I am surprised it had rabies, because it's very unusual for a bobcat to contract rabies," said Fulk.
Rabies is not uncommon in Southern Arizona, particularly among bats and skunks, Fulk said. Bobcats do fight and occasionally fight skunks, he said.
Southern Arizona has shown high incidences of rabies in recent years, particularly in the summer months, Fulk said. But he could not immediately say how many cases had been reported and for what types of animals.
Cochise County Health Department officials could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon.
Cheryl Morgan of Goodyear said the bobcat initially attacked a 45-pound dog being walked by her sister, Yvonne Humble, on a trail at the camp.
Yvonne, who was wearing motorcycle boots, kicked the cat and drove it away, she said, but as it fled, it attacked her father, Arnold Humble, as he came up the trail.
She is also being treated for rabies and her dog has been treated for the bites suffered in the attack. Yvonne said her dog's rabies vaccinations were current and he appears to be recovering.
"My dad's like 68, and it just ran right for him with its jaws open and grabbed onto his leg," she said. "He has puncture marks all over his legs, front and back.
"A few minutes later my cousin was coming up from the campfire . . . it got him on the leg from behind," she said. "When he reached down to grab it, it sunk its teeth into his arm. He got it the worst. I'm a nurse, so I cleaned them up, and he was pretty bloody."
She said the cat then ran into the brush and disappeared in the dark.
"What made us so concerned is that it just wouldn't back down," she said
Carol Capas, a spokeswoman for the Cochise County Sheriff's Office, said deputies and a Game and Fish officer searched the area briefly but were unable to locate the cat.
Several hours later, the bobcat attacked a dog at a residence about a half-mile away. A Border Patrol agent responded to a call from the landowner. The man apparently shot and killed the bobcat, she said.
The cat's body was recovered by members of the Humble family from a Dumpster Sunday morning, and they turned it over to the Game and Fish Sunday.
Larry Early, director of the Huachuca Oaks Baptist Camp, said to his knowledge it is the first such incident at the camp in 30 years of operation.
"It was a freak thing, even the EMTs said they'd never seen anything like it," he said.