A fox attack on a house cat in Kotzebue, Alaska, raises concerns about unusual wildlife behavior, potentially linked to diseases like rabies or avian influenza, and highlights the importance of disease prevention and wildlife management.

A moose that was killed in Teller last week had been infected with rabies, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game confirmed.

Health and wildlife officials confirmed a dramatic rise in rabid foxes in Nome and the region, after a winter of increased fox attacks on dogs and people. According to an ADF&G press release, of 61 foxes that were dispatched in Nome and the area, 23 percent (or 14 foxes) tested positive for rabies. Of the 11 foxes that were found dead, or were killed by dogs or people because they behaved ‘rabid’, all tested positive.

Of the 61 red foxes counted in and around Nome between February and March 2023, nearly one quarter were positive.

For the first time in more than 20 years, rabies was confirmed in a river otter, officials said.

Three foxes from three Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta communities have tested positive for rabies in recent weeks.

The head of Alaska’s Wildlife Disease and Health Surveillance Program confirms that the City of Nome has a higher than normal case count of rabies in the red fox population. Usually in winter, most of the cases come from Prudhoe Bay and Utqiagvik. This winter most of the cases are from Nome, as well as from Kivalina and other villages around Kotzebue.

After two foxes tested positive for rabies in Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T., health officials are advising anyone who has come in contact with a fox to contact the local health centre and report the incident immediately.

Adding to the concerns are stories of increasingly aggressive foxes in Marshall and other villages. It appears to be a strong year for the fox population, a state biologist said. Marshall is shooting stray dogs to protect village residents.