UPDATE AUG. 13, 2025: Sheriff Ronnie Fields reports that the fox responsible for two bite incidents in Aberdeen tested positive for rabies.
Two people were bitten by a fox just minutes apart in Aberdeen on Monday morning, according to the Moore County Sheriff’s Office.
Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields said that the first bite occurred on Midway Road, followed shortly by another on Sycamore Street, both in close proximity to one another. An official press release explains that deputies with Animal Services captured the fox believed to be responsible for both incidents and sent it to the North Carolina State Laboratory for rabies testing.
Monday’s bites come just over a month after a pair of fox attacks in Southern Pines left two women injured. In those cases, reported July 5 and July 7, one fox tested positive for rabies. The other fox was never found, but authorities did not rule out it being the same fox from the other incident.
Normal healthy foxes tend to be most active at dawn and dusk. If one is spotted in the middle of the day, it’s not always cause for alarm, but rabies may cause unusual boldness, aggression, or other strange symptoms such as stumbling and circling.
Sheriff Fields at the time warned the public that rabies is highly contagious and can spread quickly among wildlife and pets, encouraging residents to remain vigilant. Authorities are urging residents to use caution around wildlife and to report animals showing unusual or aggressive behavior to Animal Services at 910-947-2858.
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Contributed. File photo.
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