Capitol Police had an unusual warning for people in the vicinity of the Capitol complex — be careful of an “aggressive” fox prowling the area.
A Capitol Police spokesman told ABC News that a fox “bit or nipped” at least six people, including Rep. Ami Bera, D-Calif., who joked on Twitter, “What does the fox say? Last night, I found out…”
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, told reporters she had a close encounter with the fox Monday evening and showed a video she took of the animal.
Notably, foxes are susceptible to rabies and can transmit the disease to humans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — a fact Bera now knows all too well.
Pictures of the cute — but potentially dangerous — creature first popped up on social media on Monday. The fox was spotted scavenging on the streets nearby Tuesday afternoon, despite the area being crowded with tourists now that the Capitol complex reopened to the public last month after being mostly closed for two years because of the pandemic.
After workers spent hours trying to find the animal in question, Capitol Police tweeted a photo at 3:36 p.m. Tuesday of the culprit in a cage with the line “Captured.”
ABC News has inquired about the fate of the fox, but no news yet.