BROOKFIELD, Mass. (AP) - The bobcat that attacked a Massachusetts man and his nephew had rabies.
The Telegram & Gazette reports that state lab results on the dead animal were announced at Tuesday night's select board meeting in Brookfield.
Wildlife officials suspected that the bobcat that attacked Roger Mundell Jr. on Sunday was rabid because of its unusually aggressive behavior.
After pouncing on Mundell, sinking its teeth into his face and its claws in his back and holding him in what he described as a bear hug, the animal went outside and bit the 15-year-old boy.
Mundell shot and killed the bobcat.
He, his nephew and his wife -who was not bitten but got the animal's blood on her - have already started rabies treatments.
******************************************************************************************************
Original story:
ROOKFIELD, Mass. (AP) - A man in Massachusetts says all he heard was a hiss before a bobcat pounced on him in his own garage, sinking its teeth into his face and its claws in his back.
Roger Mundell Jr. went into the garage in Brookfield on Sunday morning to fetch some tie-down straps for a friend when the animal attacked.
It then ran out of the garage and bit Mundell's 15-year-old nephew on the arms and back.
Mundell and his wife pinned the cat to the ground and shot it dead.
Mundell, his nephew and his wife, are being treated for rabies. His wife wasn't bitten, but got the animal's blood on her.
State Environmental Police took the bobcat to have it tested for rabies, which they think is likely given its unusual behavior.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
