Coyote
State Environmental Police were notified around 9:30 p.m. Saturday that Natick law enforcement had received two separate calls that evening "for encounters with what was initially reported to be either a fox or coyote," said Peter Lorenz, the Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs communications director.
The attacks occurred in 100 block of East Central Street, police said in a Facebook post. The block is a residential and retail area between large stretches of forested land.
Police said the animal did not appear to be provoked before the incidents and is "aggressive and is quite possibly not healthy," Natick police said in their post.
An Environmental Police officer dispatched to Natick gathered additional information and consulted with Natick police. The animal, whose description is most consistent with a gray fox, has not been located, according to Energy and Environmental Affairs officials.
The two women who encountered the animal received medical attention, officials said. Details on their injuries was not made immediately available.
Natick Animal Control recorded 27 coyote/fox sightings in 2014, as well as 19 sick or injured foxes, which is consistent with the past few years of reports.
Officials are reminding residents to stay away from wildlife that appears to be exhibiting strange behavior, such as a lack of fear of humans, and not to feed it.
Comment: Se also: Spate of coyote attacks on four children in Irvine, California