Is it Normal to see Foxes in Daylight?

In the neighborhood I live in, we were contacted by some HOA members that are concerned about the foxes being seen throughout our subdivision. The concerns include:

·       there appear to be more frequent fox sightings, especially in the daytime, 

·       the animals appear very thin and don't seem to be scared of humans.

This has led to speculation that the animals are sick/rabid and could thus pose a particular threat to our children. The question of whether or not the HOA should hire a trapper to capture the animals or take some other such action was raised.

We contacted the Clemson office of the SC Department of Natural Resources (SC DNR) and were told it is not abnormal to see foxes in the daytime, especially this time of year. "Tom" said that the mothers likely gave birth to their "kits" (pups) not too long ago, and the parents would be out a lot foraging for food for their young ones. He said the nursing mothers will often look very thin at this point. And he said that we are now likely seeing the offspring venturing out some too. He said that we shouldn't be too surprised that the foxes aren't that scared of us – the older ones have grown accustomed to us in "their habitat,” and the young ones are starting to explore.

Tom also said a rabid fox will typically behave in one of two ways: 

·       "drunk" - stagger and wander as if it can hardly see where it's going, or

·       "furious" - attacks pretty much everything in site -- rocks, sticks, itself, etc.

No one has currently mentioned any rabid-like behavior to us, so based on that and the info from the DNR, we do not want to take steps to eradicate the foxes or other such wildlife in Teakwood unless it poses an extreme nuisance to a considerable number of us, or it represents imminent and obvious danger to us.

Note that the SC Dept. of Natural Resources does not trap and remove such wildlife. If you follow this link to their website (http://www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/nwco.html), you will see the web page starts off with, “In South Carolina, control of nuisance wildlife and animal damage is the responsibility of the individual property owner.” The SC DNR simply refers you to a list of private individuals and businesses (a.k.a., Wildlife Control Operators, or WCOs) that have agreed to provide trapping services.

To minimize potential encounters with any wildlife, the DNR's advice is:

1. do not leave any pet food outside, especially overnight

2. do not leave any garbage outside where a wild animal could easily access it

3. consider even removing bird feeders (or food from the feeders) for a while, as the foxes will come by to eat the bird seed.

If you Google search “red fox daylight” or “red fox daylight in SC”, you should find a number of articles that provide essentially the same type of info as we heard from our local DNR office. Here are a few links that may be of interest if you want to read more about this subject:

Humane Society: http://www.hsus.org/wildlife/a_closer_look_at_wildlife/foxes_the_red_and_the_gray.html

Clemson Extension Office: http://www.clemson.edu/extension/natural_resources/wildlife/publications/fs28_terrestrial_furbearers.html

News Story from a Rhode Island Paper:

http://www.scindependent.com/articles/2009/06/25/local/doc4a439a20346cc059711725.txt

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