MIDWAY, Ga. (WJCL) – A man was left fighting for his life after a vicious attack by a rabid bobcat in southeast Georgia.

Hunter Hudson said he was out camping last week when the bobcat struck without warning.

“It was me or him. It was me or him. And I got two little boys, 12 and 5, and daddy’s coming home,” Hudson said.

Hudson said he was enjoying a quiet campfire when a sound in the dark shattered the night.

“I heard a crazy noise, you know, I’ve never heard before,” he said.

Hudson said the bobcat then struck without warning.

A video shot by a friend captured the chaos of the moments after.

“I just walked out of my camper and got attacked by a bobcat,” Hudson said. “I wasn’t looking for the bobcat, the bobcat found me and came out and jumped on my shoulder.”

Hudson said his gun was out of reach and he had to rely on pure instinct to survive.

“I reached around and grabbed him and pulled him as hard as I could back in front of me, and I took my thumbs and put it right in his right there and made it so he couldn’t breathe,” Hudson said.

Badly hurt, Hudson knew he had to act fast.

“I had blood running off the end of my fingertips and had to call the ambulance and get them to help me clot it,” he said. “And up here and on my back wouldn’t stop bleeding.”

However, the danger wasn’t over just then; the bobcat tested positive for rabies.

“I got about 40 shots at about half an inch to an inch needles. It was a lot. I almost passed out twice,” Hudson said.

Health officials said rabies can make animals unpredictable and deadly.

As Hudson recovered and underwent treatment for rabies, he said he is just grateful to be alive.

“I’ve seen a lot. You know what I mean? But for me, this is one of the craziest, I don’t know, man,” he said. “You can’t make this up.”

Experts said not to take any chances if wildlife is behaving unusually, and authorities should be immediately contacted.

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