Police Apprehend Fox After Congressman Bitten Near Capitol

Topline

The Capitol Police captured a fox Tuesday after a recent spate of “aggressive fox encounters” on or near Capitol grounds, including an attack on Rep. Ami Bera that left Bera with torn pants.

Key Facts

Bera told CBS that, while walking near the Russell Senate Office Building, he was bitten without provocation on the back of a leg by a fox, which ran away before police could intervene.

Though it was unclear whether the bite had broken the skin, Bera, who is a physician, began a course of rabies vaccine on the advice of the office of the Attending Physician of the U.S. Congress, remarking to Business Insider that “rabies is not something you wanna fool around with.”

Tuesday, the Capitol Police warned people on or near the Capitol grounds not to approach any foxes, and announced that animal control officers were trapping and relocating foxes.

Bera hopes the captured fox and its family are safely relocated and wishes the fox a prosperous future, a spokesperson for the congressman said.

Key Background

While foxes may occasionally cause annoyance by wandering into houses, they are “among the most amenable, least aggressive mammals you could share your environment with,” under typical circumstances, urban wildlife specialist John Bryant told the BBC. Few foxes are prepared to confront an animal as small as a cat, and attacks on humans are exceedingly rare, Bryant said. Nonetheless, foxes may bite when cornered, injured or otherwise distressed, Martin Hemmington, director of the U.K.’s National Fox Welfare Society, told the BBC. Additionally, foxes sometimes carry rabies, though a study by the New York State Department of Health for 2016-2017 found that just 7.2% of rabid animals reported that year were foxes, while bats and raccoons topped the list, accounting for 33% and 30.3%, respectively, of all instances of animal rabies.

Tangent

In 2020, CNN reporter Joe Johns was confronted by a raccoon in front of the White House. Seconds before beginning a live broadcast, Johns threw an object and made roaring noises to scare away the animal, remarking, “Frickin’ raccoons, man!”

Crucial Quote

“I expect to get attacked if I go on Fox News, I don’t expect to get attacked by a fox,” Bera quipped to Punchbowl News managing editor Heather Caygle.

What We Don’t Know

It remains unclear whether multiple foxes were involved in the attacks, or whether the fox taken into custody Tuesday was the one involved in the incident with Bera.

Further Reading

“Why Rabies Should Be On Your Radar” (Forbes)