Authorities inside New Hampshire are on the hunt for a mysterious animal that is terrorizing the locals.
The Lebanon Law enforcement (LPD) has received three reports of attacks, all of which appeared 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 a gray fox or a fisher, a carnivorous member of the weasel family.
“At this time, Lebanese police officers have not personally observed or encountered the animal, and therefore we cannot confirm what type of animal it is,” LPD said in a statement.
Surveillance footage of one of the attacks shows 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 a slender body as it attacked the man’s feet.
While authorities are making efforts to identify the animal, they have warned locals that such aggressive behavior in a wild animal could be due to rabies.
“The Lebanon Police Department will continue to monitor the area surrounding Centerra Park and work with the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department as necessary,” LPD said. ‘Anyone who encounters an aggressive wild animal should keep a safe distance and contact police.’
The Lebanon Police Department (LPD) has received three reports of attacks, all of which appeared to be the same wild animal, in the Centerra Park area since August 30.
The animal appeared to have a long tail and a slender body when it attacked the man’s feet
Two of the three attacks were reported on September 1.
The LPD is warning anyone in the Centerra Park area to use caution, especially when “walking near wooded, brush-covered, or other areas where wildlife may be present.”
Footage of the attack shows the animal rushing towards a driver shortly after he got out of a vehicle.
The driver tries to stop the animal with an object in his hands, but the creature repeatedly jumps forward and eventually tears it away.
After briefly dropping the object, the animal attacks again, clinging to the person’s leg as he struggles to free it.
The driver eventually manages to throw the creature aside before another person comes to help.
The animal retreats under the truck and then runs back into the nearby forest as the recording ends.
LPD Chief Phillip Roberts shared KMBC: ‘It is worrying because the animal attacks people. This usually indicates that there is something wrong with the animal, most likely rabies.
Surveillance footage of one of the attacks, obtained by PEOPLE, shows the animal charging from a wooded area and repeatedly attacking a driver in a parking lot before fleeing
“And then, you know, the fact that it comes out and scratches and bites at people. That obviously worries us.’
Police said they are working with Fish and Game officials to try to locate the animal and determine if it is sick.
The series of wild animal attacks comes a week after three baby goats at a mobile petting zoo in North Carolina tested positive for rabies.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) said the baby goats that traveled to 10 petting zoos across the state this summer tested positive for rabies, a nearly 100 percent fatal disease that spreads to humans through infected animal bites.
“Rabies is almost always fatal in mammals, including humans, unless medications to prevent infection are given before symptoms develop,” NCDHHS said in a statement.
Authorities said they were first notified on August 27 of possible rabies exposure in four baby goats at the Farm Adventures mobile petting zoo.
The department believes the goats were likely exposed to rabies by a skunk that entered the pen where they were kept in late July.
Laboratory tests confirmed rabies virus in three of the four goats on August 28. The fourth goat was not tested but was presumed to have the virus, officials said.
The department warned anyone who visited the zoo in Harmony, North Carolina, or any of its other locations between July 28 and August 27 to contact local health officials to see if treatment is needed.
“The petting zoo hosted external events involving children and seniors in multiple counties within that time frame,” state officials said.
