Fox watch

Burlington VT

09 November, 2021

7:17 PM

Description

Federal officials have kicked off a rabies-screening efgort in the "Eastwoods" section of Burlington. The effort entails trapping small mammals that populate the wooded area. Ken Boyd, a Meadow Road resident, said the effort may also include trapping an occasional fox. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials "have been trapping skunks, raccoons and opossum," Boyd said, "but looking at the size of their traps a small fox might get into one." In a report on Front Porch Forum, Boyd said he is "curious if anyone has seen our resident red foxes of late." "I haven't seen the foxes in about 10 days and wondered if they might have been captured inadvertently by the USFWS," he said. The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire northern hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus parts of North Africa, according to Wiki. Red foxes are usually together in pairs or small groups consisting of families, such as a mated pair and their young, or a male with several females having kinship ties. The young of the mated pair remain with their parents to assist in caring for new kits. The species primarily feeds on small rodents, though it may also target rabbits, squirrels, game birds, reptiles, invertebrates and young ungulates, Wiki said.