New Hampshire man describes animal attack seen in viral video

A man attacked by a mystery animal caught on surveillance video is speaking out about what happened, as the search for the creature continues.

The attack happened in the FitKids ChildCare parking lot near Centerra Parkway in Lebanon, New Hampshire.

In an exclusive interview with sister station WMUR, Zack Howard, of Enfield, New Hampshire, whose girlfriend works at the facility, said he parked his moving truck there knowing it would be in a secure place.

Howard said he had just gotten out of the truck Sunday when he felt something nip at his heel. Once he backed away to see what it was, an animal dashed at him from the other side of the truck.

“The way, just, it looked with the tail and kind of that orange underbelly, it was 100% a fox in my mind,” Howard said.

Howard said the animal first grabbed the bag he was holding. A moment later, it returned, biting his foot and latching on to his leg.

“I’m trying to shake it off,” Howard recalled. “And if those security cameras had audio, you would hear me actually yell at it. I said, ‘Dude, let go. I don’t want to kick you,’ and it didn’t let go, so I just had to kick it off.”

Howard’s girlfriend is seen in the video running out of her office in response just before the animal darts away. Because Howard couldn’t get back into his truck during the attack, he said he listened to his gut and retaliated.

“If there’s no other option, fight is sometimes a better choice than flight in an attack,” Howard said.

It was one of three animal attacks reported in the same area in the past week. New Hampshire Fish and Game officials said they still can’t confirm the animal’s species, but noted that most descriptions point to a fox.

“We’ve been here fairly regularly throughout the week, trying to hopefully run into the creature and see if we can figure out what it is,” said Lt. James Kneeland with Fish and Game.

Howard said the bite didn’t draw blood, but it did puncture through the material on his running shoe. Since then, he’s had to undergo multiple rounds of rabies shots, with more to come in the following weeks.

“If anything, the six shots in the foot hurt worse than anything the fox caused,” he said.

The surveillance video of the attack has gone viral. It has spread across social media and has been covered by outlets nationwide. Over the course of the past week, Howard said messages asking about his reaction and whether or not he’s OK have flooded his inbox.

“It’s funny just to see how it spread, no pun intended, like with the rabies and stuff,” Howard joked.

Despite what it did, Howard said he holds no ill will toward the creature, noting it was visibly injured as it escaped.

“He’s got bigger issues than I’ve got right now,” Howard said.

Fish and Game officials said red and gray foxes are common in the western part of the state. Kneeland noted, though, that the animal’s aggression raises concerns that it could be sick.

“That (behavior) wouldn’t be normal for a healthy wild animal,” Kneeland said.

Fish and Game officers have patrolled the area regularly since Sunday, hoping to find the animal. So far, no additional attacks have been reported.