New Jersey woman strangles rabid fox after animal bites her leg

Tammy DuBois, 52, said a rabid fox attacked her leg outside her New Jersey home, forcing her to strangle the animal. (Tammy DuBois)

A New Jersey woman said she was forced to kill a rabid fox after the animal bit her leg and continued gnawing on her flesh despite her efforts to escape.

Tammy DuBois told NJ.com she was checking a bird feeder near her house in Pittsgrove Township on July 18 when the fox appeared from the bushes. The vicious animal leaped onto her leg and made a noise that sounded like “yip, yip, yip, yip, yip.”

"I just backed up," the 52-year-old recalled to NJ.com. "It was going crazy, making noises and its mouth was moving."

DuBois said the fox circled around her, then sank its teeth into her right leg. It continued its attack DuBois despite her attempts to escape. While she was attempting run into her house, the fox once again began biting her leg.

"It was biting at my leg, I had to do something,” DuBois said.

Tammy DuBois received two weeks of rabies treatment after the attack. The fox tested positive for rabies. (Tammy DuBois)

The New Jersey resident said she grabbed the fox’s snout and squeezed its neck with her hands until the animal’s body went limp. She added she usually has garden tools in the yard, but didn’t have any at the time.

"I couldn't do anything else to get it away from me," she recalled. "I don't like to kill anything."

DuBois went into her house and called her husband. She was taken to the hospital and given rabies treatments for two weeks after the fox tested positive for rabies.

"I'm just so proud of my mom for reacting the way she did," DuBois’ daughter, Laura, told the site. "I don't know what I would have done."