80-Year-Old Badass Fights Rabid Bobcat and Wins

For the second time this month, a woman in New England has taken down a rabid critter and lived to tell about it.

New Hampshire woman Elise Dabrowski was gardening on Sunday at her Sunapee home when a raging bobcat jumped from the bushes and started biting her face, arm, and back.

Of all possible thoughts in such a moment, Dabrowski says the only thought going through her head was, "Why is this stupid cat attacking me?"

According to the New York Post, Dabrowski fought the animal off with a sickle until her dogs chased the bobcat under a shed. When her son heard the noise, he rushed outside with his shotgun and finished the job.

The bobcat tested positive for rabies, and Dabrowski needed a series of shots and more than 50 stitches to close her wounds.

Quick Bobcat Facts

Bobcats are a common wildcat in North America. They get their name from their appearance -- a short, bobbed tail, which ranges between six and seven inches in length. They are of medium height and similar in appearance to their cousin, the lynx.

Considering bobcats are capable of killing adults who weigh up to 250 pounds, it's a miracle Dabrowski made it out of her attack alive.

Thanks to human settlement encroaching on their territory, bobcats are becoming more and more common in urban areas.

"We're looking at just how bobcats move in the city areas," biologist Julie Golla said. "It started out with cameras. Cameras have been very important, not only to see the number of animals but to find those hotspots, where we can catch them in a quick and efficient manner. We've got cats sleeping under roadways [and] hunting on golf courses."