A pair of Sedona area residents learned the hard way of what could happen when feeding wildlife, especially aggressive javelina.

In a release sent out last week, the Arizona Game and Fish Department reminded everyone to stop feeding wildlife, following two javelina attacks near Sedona last month. Both attacks were the result of people feeding javelina at their homes, said Scott Poppenberger, Arizona Game and Fish Department Flagstaff regional supervisor.

“The Game and Fish department strongly discourages feeding wildlife other than birds and tree squirrels,” he said in the release. “Wildlife feeding frequently creates dangerous situations for both wildlife and people, often setting the stage for attacks.”

On Feb. 5, Game and Fish received information that a 79-year-old woman was bitten by a javelina in a neighborhood southwest of Sedona. The attack occurred around 4 p.m. at the woman’s residence, where she received severe bite wounds to her leg as she tried to stop the javelina from attacking her dogs.

A responding Game and Fish wildlife officer confirmed the woman was intentionally feeding a herd of javelina at her home. The victim was treated in Sedona and released.

The second incident occurred on Feb. 25. The department received information that an elderly man was bitten by a javelina in the Village of Oak Creek as he was feeding a herd of javelina in his backyard. When food wasn’t provided quickly enough, one of the animals became aggressive and bit the man in the leg, the officer reported.

The man was treated at a local emergency room in Sedona and released. The victim has been going through the preventative rabies shot series.

Sedona Fire District Fire Marshal Jon Davis said they did not respond to animal bite calls on either of those days.

These incidents placed the department in a difficult position where it had to act immediately and consequently contracted with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services to conduct lethal removal of the javelina within a quarter-mile radius of the victims’ residences, Poppenberger said.

The decision to lethally remove the animals was based on the attacks, an imminent public safety threat created by intentional feeding, the habituation and loss of fear to humans by the javelina, and a concern for possible rabies. A javelina tested positive for rabies in Sedona approximately eight months ago.

In late December, Arizona Department of Health Services reported that a fox had bitten a man in Oak Creek Canyon. It was captured and later tested positive for rabies.

“The attack by the fox was unprovoked and the individual was bitten,” Coconino County Public Health Services District Division Manager Randy Phillips told the Sedona Red Rock News. “Wildlife with rabies typically exhibit unusual behavior, are often aggressive and may lack any fear of humans or other animals.”

Phillips said this was the second reported attack by a fox within two weeks in Oak Creek Canyon.

The other occurred on Dec. 5 when a tourist was hiking in the West Fork area and was bitten. In that incident, the fox got away, and the individual said he was going to get checked out when he returned home. But, it was believed to be a different fox than the one later in the month.

“This is very concerning,” Phillips said in December. “In 2008 and 2009 we had outbreaks, but things had been pretty quiet since then.” He said rabies can be spread from one fox to another while in the dens through biting or saliva through normal contact.

When one is infected, it has a difficult time eating or drinking and often becomes aggressive. Phillips said that in Arizona, the three most common species to become infected with rabies are bats, skunks and foxes. And while the number of confirmed fox cases is on the rise, he said they have not seen an increase among any other wild animals.

As wildlife are fed by people, they lose their natural fear of humans and become dependent on unnatural food sources. Feeding places the person feeding, their neighbors and the wildlife at risk.

Game and Fish is tasked with managing all wildlife in Arizona and working to ensure public safety. The department does not want to be in a position where it must decide to lethally remove wildlife due to irresponsible feeding. So the message from them is simple: “Please help to keep wildlife wild.”

To report unusual wildlife sightings or behavior, call your local Arizona Game and Fish Department office or the appropriate county community health services department.

For more information, visit www. azgfd.gov.

Ron Eland can be reached at 282-7795 ext. 122, or email reland@larsonnewspapers.com