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HORRIFIC footage shows NY woman fighting off RABID fox who refused to retreat despite her blows

Images after the attack show the woman's hand massively swollen and dripping with blood from the mangled bites

ITHACA, NEW YORK STATE: Shocking surveillance footage has emerged showing a middle-aged woman talking on the phone while a fox sneaks up behind her. The rabid wild animal attacks the unsuspecting woman and clings to her leg as she pushes it around.

Despite repeated attempts to fling the animal away, the woman finds herself in a horrible position as the fox keeps coming back and clinging to her body. She vigorously kicks at the animal that is attacking her and throws it off her when help finally arrives. A man armed with a stick appears, whereupon the animal runs away.

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The horrific video of the rabid fox was first shared by meteorologist Ed Russo on Twitter. The woman in the clip was his cousin, a resident of Ithaca, New York. He confirmed that she was currently fine, adding, "But geez this video is crazy!"

While the footage was posted on the micro-blogging platform on August 23, 2022, he revealed that the incident had taken place some weeks ago. After the attack, the woman sought immediate medical assistance and treatment and shared the happenings only recently. 

The timestamp of the surveillance footage reveals that the incident took place last month, on July 25, 2022. The video was also earlier shared by a man called Paul Russo who identified himself as the woman's husband. Taking to Facebook, he wrote, "My wife was attacked by a rabid fox this past July. Our friend edited the security camera footage and made this educational video for us to post to alert everyone that this can happen to anyone."

The woman frantically tries to get the animal off her. She furiously jerks her legs and flails her arms about but the animal keeps coming back to her. A long struggle ensues during which the fox receives a couple of strong kicks from the lady. 

Undeterred, the animal clung to any part of her that it could latch on to. Finally, her screams draw out her neighbor who raced over to help. He entered the yard, armed with a long stick. The fox scampered away, and the woman rushed back towards her house, limping with pain. 

However, sometime later, the animal returned to the yard once more before leaving. According to the video posted on Facebook, the fox attacked another person not too far away and was killed. Its body was taken to the veterinary lab at Cornell University where it was found to be infected with rabies.