A small, unidentified animal attacked three people within 36 hours at Centerra Park in Lebanon, New Hampshire, grabbing one man's bag and clawing at his feet before scrambling back underneath a U-Haul truck. Police believe the same animal is responsible for all three encounters, and they still cannot say for certain what kind of creature it is.
The first attack was reported Sunday, according to WBAL Newsradio, and Lebanon police learned of two additional attacks in the same area on Tuesday. Surveillance video obtained by police shows an animal roughly the size of a house cat attacking a man near a U-Haul truck in a parking lot, biting at his feet before he kicked it away. In a separate incident, the animal grabbed a man's bag. Witnesses described the creature as unusually aggressive, and investigators say the footage was not clear enough to identify the species with certainty, though they believe it is either a gray fox or a fisher.
All three encounters happened within the Centerra Park commercial development off Centerra Parkway, according to the City of Lebanon. The area sits directly across Route 120 from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and includes dense commercial space, residential units, and a 24-hour pharmacy, making it one of the busiest pedestrian corridors in the city, with heavy daily foot traffic from healthcare workers, shoppers, and residents.
Why Police Suspect Illness, Not Just a Wild Animal Being Wild
Lebanon Police Chief Phillip Roberts said in a statement Tuesday that the attacks are concerning precisely because the behavior is so out of character for a wild animal. Unprovoked biting and scratching toward people, he said, is typically a sign that something is wrong with the animal — most likely rabies. Both gray foxes and fishers are naturally nocturnal and evasive, which is part of why daytime, parking-lot confrontations with humans have alarmed officials rather than being written off as ordinary wildlife behavior.
Distinguishing between the two suspect species from grainy video is not simple. Adult fishers in New Hampshire typically weigh 3 to 12 pounds with dark brown fur, while native gray foxes run 7 to 13 pounds and have semi-retractable claws that let them climb trees, per the New Hampshire Hunter Safety Course. Both species share similar dimensions and dark coats reminiscent of a large house cat, which is likely why officers have not been able to confirm the animal's identity even after reviewing surveillance footage.
Rabies is not the only explanation researchers have flagged for erratic wildlife behavior in the region. Research from the University of New Hampshire Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, published on PMC, documents that wild gray foxes in New Hampshire can suffer from canine distemper virus, a neurological infection that causes abnormal behavior and loss of natural fear toward humans. Laboratory testing of brain tissue remains the only definitive way to confirm rabies, meaning the exact cause of the animal's aggression is still unknown pending capture.
What Bite Victims Should Do, and What Officials Are Warning
Federal guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that anyone bitten or scratched by a wild animal should wash the wound with soap and water for at least 15 minutes and seek post-exposure prophylaxis, which includes human rabies immune globulin and a four-dose vaccine series. Roughly 100,000 Americans receive post-exposure rabies vaccinations each year following encounters with wild animals, most often bats, raccoons, skunks, and foxes, according to the CDC. Prompt treatment is nearly always effective, and human rabies deaths in the United States remain rare, at fewer than 10 per year.
Lebanon police are working with New Hampshire Fish and Game to try to locate the animal and determine whether it is sick, but officials are urging residents not to attempt to catch or corner it themselves. Under New Hampshire wildlife regulations, gray foxes and raccoons are classified as fur-bearing species, and state law tightly restricts the trapping, holding, and relocation of animals known to carry rabies, meaning any capture has to be coordinated through official channels rather than by residents on their own.
The City of Lebanon has advised anyone who spots the small gray animal to keep a safe distance, avoid trying to capture it, and immediately call police dispatch at 603-448-1212 or contact New Hampshire Fish and Game. Officials have not said whether the animal has been trapped or tested.
A Widespread Myth About Fishers
Amid the scare, wildlife officials have also pushed back on a common assumption about fishers, one of the two suspected species. A New Hampshire Fish and Game Department study that examined the stomach contents of 1,000 dead fishers statewide found cat hair in only a single sample, contradicting the popular belief that fishers frequently prey on house cats. Biologists note that coyotes are far more common predators of domestic pets in northern New England, a detail that complicates the narrative even as the search for the animal responsible for the Centerra Park attacks continues.
