Report: Bobcat in MA attack was rabid

BROOKFIELD, Mass. (WPRI) -- A bobcat that attacked a Massachusetts family in their garage has reportedly tested positive for rabies.

The Telegram & Gazette reports that the Chairman of the Brookfield Board of Selectmen announced the lab test results at Tuesday's Board of Selectmen meeting.

The attack took place Sunday morning in Brookfield, about thirty miles northwest of the Rhode Island border.

Roger Mundell says he had gone into his garage to grab something for a friend, when he heard a hiss.  Moments later, he says, the bobcat attacked.

"It only took a split second for him to be on me. I didn't even have time to process it," Mundell recalled earlier this week, with the wounds still fresh on his face.

"It hit me with it's face, right here, then it gave me like a bear hug."

Mundell says the bobcat then bit his 15-year-old nephew.  Mundell and his wife used a crutch to hit the animal, then pinned it to the ground and shot it dead.

Mundell, his nephew and his wife were all treated for exposure to rabies.  His wife was not bitten, but she did get some of the animal's blood on her during the attack.

An official with the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife said that bobcat sightings are not uncommon near the Mundells' home, but that attacks are extremely unusual.