Police report possible rabid fox loose in Manalapan

MANALAPAN — Police are searching for what is believed to be a rabid fox that terrorized a family and bit a woman and a dog in the vicinity of Symmes Drive in Manalapan.
According to a press release from Manalapan police, at approximately 5:24 p.m. Wednesday, March 17, a call was received from a resident on Washington’s Advance, notifying police of a possible rabid fox in their yard. Police patrols and Manalapan Township police and animal control officers responded and observed the fox, which ran off into a wooded area, police said.
About 15 minutes later, Lisa Ljajka reported that the fox had chased her and her daughters into their house.
Approximately 30 minutes after that, at 6:12 p.m., Sgt. Gerald Bruno located a female victim, identified as Junghim Bok, of Chatham Drive, who had been attacked and bitten on the leg by the fox. She was transported to CentraState Medical Center, Freehold Township, where she received treatment.
Another resident reported that their dog was attacked and bitten by the fox.  According to Manalapan Capt. Chris Marsala, the dog, who was up to date on its rabies shots, only needed treatment for its wounds and is expected to fully recover.
Ljajka told the News Transcript that her two daughters, Alyssa, 9, and Amanda, 4, were playing on the swings in her fenced-in backyard. Ljajka was watching from closer to the house when Alyssa came to get her.
“Mommy, mommy, something is biting the fence,” Alyssa said. “It’s a fox and its nose is poking through.”
Ljajka said when she went to inspect, she heard an animal growling and biting and told the girls they all needed to get into the house.
Ljajka explained, “As soon as we turned and were running to the house, it chased us to my sliding-glass door and it almost came into the house because it latched onto the screen door and started to bite the screen door to get through. It brushed up against my leg as I was closing the door — that’s how close it came to coming into the house. Luckily I was able to close the glass, but it was biting and biting the screen. I banged on the glass and it wouldn’t leave, and then finally it left.
“My children are very traumatized.” Ljajka continued. “None of us want to go into the yard until it’s caught. It was ready to bite somebody.”
Ljajka said Alyssa was afraid to go outside for recess the following day at Lafayette Mills Elementary School.
“This morning [March 18] my neighbor saw it again by my garbage,” Ljajka said. “The police are searching for it.
“My daughter is a little hero. She saved us. Another second and it could have jumped right on them. It actually bit through the fence. … It was such a beautiful day and everyone was out. You think you are safe in your own yard, but you’re not. It’s very scary.”
A reverse 911 call was sent out notifying Manalapan residents of the incident. Manalapan police and animal control were still searching for the fox Thursday afternoon.
Marsala said that according to information he received from the Manalapan Health Department, when a rabid animal gets to the point of chasing people, it could be in the final stages of the disease, and death could possibly occur within days.
Marsala said that the fox looks like a small dog with a white tip on the tail. He said that normally a fox wouldn’t attack, but since it’s believed to be rabid, it won’t behave normally.
Anyone who sees it or any other animal behaving out of the ordinary is advised not to approach it or to try to capture it. Residents also are advised not to run but to back away and call police immediately at 732-446-4300.
This incident comes on the heels of several sightings of a large feline resembling a mountain lion on the Manalapan-Marlboro border last week. There have been no more sightings in Manalapan, but it may have been spotted in Freehold Township.
Marsala said he doesn’t believe that it is a mountain lion. He believes it could be a declawed Savannah cat that was lost in the area about four or five years ago, which could possibly be mistaken for a mountain lion. According to Marsala, Savannah cats are an exotic crossbreed with a long tail that can weigh about 20 pounds.