inGobwetrust
07-19-2006, 11:27 PM
HUNTINGDON - Dr. Walter Cottrell, Pennsylvania Game Commission wildlife veterinarian, today confirmed that laboratory results conducted on a bobcat killed by an off-duty police officer revealed that the animal was suffering from the effects of rabies when it attacked and bit a bicyclist on a well-known cycling trail near Williamsburg, Blair County on July 13.
The bobcat's carcass was transported by Game Commission Southcentral Region Wildlife Management Supervisor Justin Vreeland to Penn State University's Animal Diagnostics Lab, where Dr. Cottrell's office is located. Dr. Cottrell conducted a necropsy and removed the animal's brain for testing at the state Department of Health's Bureau of Laboratories in Lionville, Chester County.
The bicyclist, traveling on the "Lower Trail," was about four miles from the town of Williamsburg when he stopped to rest at a park bench along the trail. Game Commission Southcentral Region Information and Education Supervisor Don Garner said the bicyclist heard rustling in the weeds and spotted the bobcat, which he first thought was a housecat. As a precaution, the cyclist began a series of rabies post-exposure vaccinations the night he was attacked.
"As the animal approached, it sprang at the rider who brought up his arms to fend off the animal, receiving a bite in the right arm and several scratches," Garner said. "After using his bicycle to again fend off the animal, the rider proceeded to Williamsburg and contacted the Game Commission and an off-duty police officer. The police officer, who was the first to arrive at the scene, found the animal still in the area and killed it."
Dr. Cottrell said rabies can be carried by any mammal, especially bats, raccoons and foxes. However, it is rare in large carnivores; only a small number of bobcats have tested positive for rabies in Pennsylvania. Prior to this case, there were eight bobcats confirmed to have rabies in Pennsylvania; one each in 1987, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1997, 2003, 2004 and 2005.
"There is a reservoir of the rabies virus in wildlife species," Dr. Cottrell said. "It is a disease to be aware of, yet not paranoid about. It is relatively rare, but will likely always be a part of the world of wildlife. Animals who behave abnormally are automatically suspect for rabies; the abnormal is normal for rabid mammals.
"There is no reason not to enjoy the 'Lower Trail' or anywhere else in Penn's Woods for that matter, due to this one incident. If there is one species of animal in our state that does not desire human contact, it is a bobcat. Most people living in bobcat habitat will never see one."
The last human rabies fatality in Pennsylvania was a 12-year-old Lycoming County boy who died in 1984, after being exposed to the bat-strain of the rabies virus.
The bobcat's carcass was transported by Game Commission Southcentral Region Wildlife Management Supervisor Justin Vreeland to Penn State University's Animal Diagnostics Lab, where Dr. Cottrell's office is located. Dr. Cottrell conducted a necropsy and removed the animal's brain for testing at the state Department of Health's Bureau of Laboratories in Lionville, Chester County.
The bicyclist, traveling on the "Lower Trail," was about four miles from the town of Williamsburg when he stopped to rest at a park bench along the trail. Game Commission Southcentral Region Information and Education Supervisor Don Garner said the bicyclist heard rustling in the weeds and spotted the bobcat, which he first thought was a housecat. As a precaution, the cyclist began a series of rabies post-exposure vaccinations the night he was attacked.
"As the animal approached, it sprang at the rider who brought up his arms to fend off the animal, receiving a bite in the right arm and several scratches," Garner said. "After using his bicycle to again fend off the animal, the rider proceeded to Williamsburg and contacted the Game Commission and an off-duty police officer. The police officer, who was the first to arrive at the scene, found the animal still in the area and killed it."
Dr. Cottrell said rabies can be carried by any mammal, especially bats, raccoons and foxes. However, it is rare in large carnivores; only a small number of bobcats have tested positive for rabies in Pennsylvania. Prior to this case, there were eight bobcats confirmed to have rabies in Pennsylvania; one each in 1987, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1997, 2003, 2004 and 2005.
"There is a reservoir of the rabies virus in wildlife species," Dr. Cottrell said. "It is a disease to be aware of, yet not paranoid about. It is relatively rare, but will likely always be a part of the world of wildlife. Animals who behave abnormally are automatically suspect for rabies; the abnormal is normal for rabid mammals.
"There is no reason not to enjoy the 'Lower Trail' or anywhere else in Penn's Woods for that matter, due to this one incident. If there is one species of animal in our state that does not desire human contact, it is a bobcat. Most people living in bobcat habitat will never see one."
The last human rabies fatality in Pennsylvania was a 12-year-old Lycoming County boy who died in 1984, after being exposed to the bat-strain of the rabies virus.