SAGADAHOC COUNTY, ME (WMTW/CNN) - Surveillance video captured a man's violent confrontation with a rabid fox outside of a business in Maine. "It was extremely aggressive, there was no changing its mind," said Mark Sleeper, who was attacked by the animal.
Some of Sleeper's co-workers say they can't stop watching the video of the incident. "Yeah I couldn't believe it. I had to keep watching it. At first I was shocked, then I laughed and then I was shocked. It was just so unreal," co-worker Courtney Garrison said on Wednesday.
Sleeper says he went to get inside of his truck when he noticed the fox was aggressive and angry. "...Something I never expected would have happened," he said.
In the surveillance video, Sleeper tries to get away from the fox by pushing it away and eventually throwing the animal on the concrete. But the fox isn't done yet, and gets back up and runs after him.
Sleeper did manage to get away, but not before he was bitten. "I couldn't get away so that's when I grabbed it by the scruff. I wasn't trying to intentionally throw the animal, but natural instinct was to get that thing as far away from me as I could get it," Sleeper said.
"I think Mark did the right thing, and I think it did need to be put down because I'm sure they're suffering too. He (fox) had porcupine quills through his face, he was foaming at the mouth. So I'm sure he was in some pain,” Garrison said.
As he recovers, Sleeper says he's just thankful the fox didn't come after anyone else. “It could have been a lot worse. If that's all I get out of this and nobody else gets hurt, that's the main thing," Sleeper said. Sleeper was doing OK on Wednesday, but he says he's still a little sore.
He was taken to the hospital and given the rabies vaccination. Another driver saw the fox a short time later when it came back. That driver ran over it and killed it. The fox was taken to a lab for testing.
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