CAPE ELIZABETH — A week after authorities killed a rabid fox in Two Lights State Park in Cape Elizabeth, rangers again evacuated the seaside park after spotting an oddly behaving gray fox.
This time, the fox did not have contact with anyone, and instead it ran away and rangers and the local animal control officer were unable to find it.
The fox was spotted by a ranger at 5:20 p.m. Thursday making an unusual yipping sound and running back and forth near the park office, so staff decided to evacuate the 41-acre park. There were about a dozen cars parked in the lot at the time, and the evacuation went smoothly, said Ranger Ron Ahlquist.
The park, which closes at 8 p.m. anyway, was kept closed until this morning. Rangers conducted a sweep of the park but were unable to find the strangely behaving fox, said Park Manager John Polackwich.
The previous incident happened on July 7, when a gray fox darted out from under a truck and attacked Ahlquist’s feet. A fox later entered the park’s playground where it bit a 3-year-old boy trying to pet it, authorities said.
The fox bit the boy on his arm and calf before biting the boy’s mother on her leg. It was driven off by a ranger with a string trimmer and later shot. It tested positive for rabies.
In that case the park closed at 1:30 p.m. and reopened at 4:30 p.m. after the fox was killed.
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