Miniature horse attacked by rabid coyote on Tucson’s east side
TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) - Another attack by a rabid animal has been reported in Tucson.
The most recent incident happened on the east side and the Arizona Game and Fish Department said they’re seeing a concerning trend.
Jonathan Henrichs has worked with Reata Veterinary Hospital for about eight years, and he’s never seen anything like this.
“We got a call from one of our clients that their horse had been attacked by a coyote that was behaving aggressively so we assumed it was rabid,” Henrichs said.
The coyote entered the miniature horse’s pen, grabbed onto his tail and refused to let go. Then a few seconds later, it latched onto the horse’s fly mask and held on for a few seconds.
This is part of a growing trend that officials are seeing around the area.
“That’s two in one week, four since the last quarter of 2023,” Arizona Game and Fish Tucson Mark Hart said, “and three very aggressive attacks by wildlife that we suspect involved rabies.”
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They said this is something they’ve seen before.
“About five to seven years ago we went through a similar cycle,” Hart said. “It started in the spring, and by late fall we were trapping and inoculating skunks given that they’re a common carrier.”
Henrichs said the horses were not hurt, but it’s because they were up to date on their rabies vaccinations.
“It’s 100% fatal,” Henrichs said. “Rabies is a 100% fatal disease, so if there’s no immunization for it and they get exposed, they’re not going to make it. If they are vaccinated, they’ll almost certainly turn out okay.”
He also says the best way to respond to a wild animal attack on your pet is to avoid touching your pet and go to the hospital as soon as you can.
“Anything really from that animal could be contagious to a small cut in your hand or if you wipe your face for example so if your animal just got attacked, don’t go touching the wounds,” Henrichs said.
A lot of the statistics around rabies in Tucson remain unclear, with experts only having 72 hours after an infected animal has died to test.
That leaves Game and Fish unsure of what may be in store in the future, while it’s a little too soon to tell ... it’s not looking positive right now.
“At this point, we have as many suspected cases as confirmed,” Hart said. “It appears that, particularly on the east side, we’re going have an issue going into 2024.”
To help with keeping numbers accurate in the area, if you see an animal acting strange, clear the area and contact Arizona Game and Fish Tucson as soon as you are safe.
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