5 Children Bitten By Fox In Ocean County: Police

LAKEWOOD, NJ — Six children were attacked by a fox on Tuesday, with five suffering bites, in separate incidents in Lakewood, police said Wednesday.

It was not clear if a single animal was involved or if there were multiple foxes that came in contact with the children. All of the incidents were within a 1-mile radius of John Street Park, where two children were bitten.

The first incident happened about 10 a.m. Tuesday but was not reported until 5:40 p.m., Lakewood Capt. Gregory Staffordsmith said. A mother told Officer Kyle Carrington that her child had been bitten while playing at the John Street playground that morning. The boy was taken to a local hospital where he was treated and released, Staffordsmith said.

About 6:40 p.m., a second child was bitten while playing at the John Street playground. Staffordsmith said that bite wasn't reported until about 9:40 p.m. Officer Felix Rivera took the report about the 8-year-old child, who lives on Center Street.

About 7:15 p.m., Officer Kevin Nickerson took a report of a fox jumping on a child at a Rose Park Crescent home. The child was not injured, Staffordsmith said. Authorities could not find the fox.

About 7:30 p.m., a family reported three children had been bitten by a fox while they played in their yard on Regal Court. Officer Sean Ward told them to seek medical attention and contacted the Ocean County Health Department, Staffordsmith said.

It was unclear whether the children were receiving preventative treatment for possible exposure to rabies.

The Ocean County Health Department has had six confirmed cases of rabies reported to it in 2022, said Brian Lippai, a spokesman for the department. He said the health department does keep track of instances where people are treated for possible exposure to rabies, but the tracking is dependent on hospitals and/or doctors reporting the treatments.

The state Department of Environmental Protection website says "foxes, especially red foxes, commonly live in close association with human residences and communities."

"They frequently inhabit yards, parks, and golf courses, especially areas that adjoin suitable, undeveloped habitat," the DEP says. "Healthy foxes pose virtually no danger to humans. Foxes can grow accustomed to human activity but are seldom aggressive toward people. Expanding housing development, particularly in historically rural areas, increases the chances of interactions between humans and foxes, as well as other wildlife."

Foxes can carry diseases such as mange, distemper and rabies, the DEP says. "Animals that appear sick or that are acting abnormally should be avoided. The following symptoms may indicate the presence of rabies or other neurological diseases in mammals: unprovoked aggression, impaired movement, paralysis or lack of coordination, unusually friendly behavior and disorientation."

Animal bites are reported to the Ocean County Health Department. The department also issues alerts about rabid animals; a warning was issued in June after a cat in Manchester tested positive for rabies.

State authorities have closed Double Trouble State Park in Berkeley Township while they try to trap a potentially rabid fox that was spotted "behaving erratically" and had "encounters" with park visitors, officials said. Officials have not said whether anyone was bitten by the fox.

Double Trouble State Park is more than 15 miles from the site of the bitings reported in Lakewood on Tuesday.

Anyone encountering an animal behaving erratically should call their local police or animal control or the DEP Hotline (877-WARN-DEP), officials said.