Maine may be seeing a new strain of rabies in gray foxes, caused by cross-infection between them and raccoons.
A story in the Bangor Daily News (here) says veterinarians think the strain might be behind a series of rabid fox attacks in the midcoast section of Maine, as well as the fact that gray foxes are moving into the area. Gray foxes are less shy of people than the red fox which is more common in that part of the state.
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David – gray foxes are not necessarily less shy as it depends on when and where. I have both in my yard/woods, have tracked them across many landscapes from Oregon to Florida and most places in between. Rabies outbreaks are often vectored through raccoons, although there is a chance element to who might contract it, which in turn depends upon local gray and red fox populations and whether they’re high or low and overlap or not.