Officials: Bobcat That Attacked 2 In Citrus County Was Rabid

A bobcat that bit and clawed a Cub Scout and an elderly man in separate attacks over the weekend in Citrus County turned out to be rabid, health officials said today.

According to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers, the bobcat first attacked 10-year-old Johnathon Knecht, a scout from Bradenton who was with his troop Saturday in the Withlacoochee State Forest.

"We've been in the woods most of our lives," Johnathon's mom, Betty, said this morning. "We've come across animals but never one that attacked any of us."

She was with the troop Saturday, getting ready to explore some caves in the forest's Mutual Mines area about 65 miles north of Tampa.

"As we were preparing for our trip, all of a sudden, some boys came screaming, saying that Johnathon had been attacked by bobcat. Yeah, it happened. He got some good cuts and scrapes. He came out of it pretty good."

She said that her son was doing well, even though he was a little apprehensive about the shots. "At first, they scared him," she said. "When he found out it would be in his arms, well, he's handling it very good."

"He only had superficial wounds," the boy's grandfather, Bill Knecht of Bradenton, said. "We were worried more about his not wanting to go out camping or hiking or scouting, but he seems to have put it behind him."

The initial shots were administered in Inverness hours after the attack, but the rest of the treatments will be given at the health department in Manatee County, the grandfather said.

A short while after the attack, a bobcat, believed to be the same one, ran onto 71-year-old Frank Womack's property and bit his leg. Wildlife officers said that Womack killed the bobcat in self-defense. Womack, reached today at his home, declined to comment, saying he wished the media "would just leave me alone."

Both Knecht and Womack were treated at Citrus Memorial Hospital for scratches and bites.

The dead bobcat was taken to the Citrus County Health Department to be tested for rabies.

"It tested positive," said Virginia Crandall, a registered nurse with the health department who heads the epidemiology program.

Both Womack and Knecht received shots Saturday as a precaution, Crandall said this morning. Health officials suspected the animal was rabid, based on its physical condition and behavior. Now, Womack and Knecht will have to undergo a series of four shots over the next four weeks to prevent infection.

"The treatment is very effective," Crandall said.

Rabies occurs naturally in wildlife populations, but seldom do rabid wild animals come into contact with humans, she said. The two attacks on Saturday appear to be isolated, she said.

If left untreated, rabies can be fatal.

The victims met Saturday at the Inverness hospital, Betty Knecht said.

"The gentleman said he wanted to stop by and meet the little boy," she said. "When he met Johnathon, he told him that he took care of it and he didn't have to worry about the bobcat any more."

The carcass of the cat was in the bed of Womack's pickup truck, Knecht said, and both victims walked down to take a look at it.

"Johnathon," she said, "couldn't believe his eyes."