New York environmental officers and local police are investigating fox attacks in Saratoga Springs and urging people in the area to be cautious outdoors.

Melissa Thompson-Flynn told the Times Union of Albany that she was attacked by a fox Wednesday while jogging. She said the animal came up behind her and bit her leg.

“I fell to the ground … I’m screaming my head off and I’m grabbing the animal and trying to get it off me,” she said.

She pried the fox off her leg, but it then bit her right arm. Thompson-Flynn, 51, a retired U.S. Army officer who served in Iraq, grabbed the fox by the throat with her left arm. Police arrived as she was still battling the fox and an officer killed the animal.

Thompson-Flynn remained hospitalized Saturday and has begun a series of anti-rabies shots.

On Monday at a day camp for children hosted by Skidmore College, a fox bit a camp counselor and scratched a camper. They were treated for minor injuries and began receiving anti-rabies shots, a college spokesperson said.

Officers with the state Department of Environmental Conservation and wildlife experts have been patrolling the area with local police and college officials and setting traps on the campus.

(AP)