Woman gets stitches after reported fox attack

A woman in her 40s was attacked by a wild animal in her garden while trying to protect her chickens. She described the “highly unusual” event as a terrifying moment that left her in need of stitches.

Noelle Mundy, who keeps four hens for her nieces and nephews, says the incident happened at around 3.30pm. She was looking out of the kitchen window towards the chicken coop - an enclosed space where her hens roam during the day - when she saw a small fox frantically scratching, trying to force its way in. The chickens were panicked and flapping wildly.

Concerned for the animals, Noelle stepped outside to scare it off. “I thought he’d run when I shouted at him,” she recalled. “But he didn’t even react. I came closer and closer, and because of all the noise from the chickens, he wasn’t paying attention to me.”

It was only when she was right behind the animal that he suddenly turned. “He must've gotten a fright. He immediately went for me,” she said. “I was so taken aback that I fell onto the ground trying to fend him off. I tried to kick him, but he just kept coming.”

What followed, she described, was a frantic struggle. “I saw these razor-sharp teeth snapping at me. I managed to grab him by the neck and hold him away. His teeth were just snap, snap, snapping at me. Eventually I flung him against a tree.”

But the fox wasn’t finished: “I thought that was it, but he came straight back for me again,” she said in disbelief. “He was relentless.” Still on the ground, Noelle was bitten on the head. She initially believed the wound was minor, but later learned she needed four stitches. She was also bitten on the finger.

“He was in such a frenzy,” she said. “I don’t want to think about what could have happened if he’d gone for my face.”

Noelle finally managed to get to her feet and retreat back into the house, shaken but safe. Emergency treatment later confirmed no broken bones, though she was given a tetanus shot and strong antibiotics as a precaution.

Reflecting on the ordeal, she believes the fox was very young, extremely light, and noticeably starved. Living in Deredis, a rural area not far from Butlersbridge, she is familiar with foxes and says they typically avoid humans and stay hidden during the day.

“This was very out of character,” she notes. “Normally they’d run the minute they hear humans. But he was hungry and fixated on the chicken.”

Despite the frightening experience, Noelle says she feels sympathy for the animal.

“I feel sorry for the fox. He did more damage than I ever expected, but he was desperate.”

She has also taken a hard-earned lesson from the incident: “He’s a wild animal. In future, if there’s any wild animal around the hens, I’ll just leave it.

“My life is more important. That’s nature for you.”