Archives For Fox

Fox euthanized after attacking two children

04/11/2014 — Leave a comment

Outside areas closed while police searched for animal

DERRY, N.H. — Derry, N.H., police say they found and euthanized a fox that chased a woman and her son and bit another girl on the ankle.

Watch a full report here

The first incident involving the fox was reported Wednesday around 6:45 p.m. Derry police said they got a call from a woman who said she watched a fox circle her 9-year-old son while he was playing in their back yard.

She said the boy started to run to the house, and the fox chased him and knocked him to the ground.

She said she threw something at the animal and it backed off, only to chase both her and her son as they continued to run back to their house.

The woman said she then swung a shovel at it and the fox ran into nearby bushes.

They were not injured.

The second incident was reported Thursday around 3:45 p.m. at Don Ball Park on Humphrey Road. The caller told police that the fox bit a 5-year-old girl in the ankle while she was playing.

Police said they responded to the area and after an extensive search the fox was located.

Officers said they were forced to euthanize the fox in a wooded area off Cemetery Road.

During the search for the fox, police said a public safety alert was issued for resident in the areas of Schurman Drive, Cemetery Road, Dexter Street, South Main Street and in the area surrounding Don Ball Park.

As a further precaution, the park and all outside areas of the West Running Brook School and Derry Village School were closed.

Those areas have since reopened.

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Rescued fox pup needs a companion

03/21/2014 — Leave a comment

Animal found alone in Brockton 

WEYMOUTH, Mass. — A tiny red fox brought into New England Wildlife Center from Brockton needs some adopted kin if it’s going to survive and thrive in the wild.

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“The cuteness factor is huge, but I have to just back it into a little bit of reality. She came in with three dead puppies,” said Dr. Greg Mertz, of the New England Wildlife Center.

The baby red fox arrived earlier this week — alone and orphaned. Its mother was hit and killed by a car.

An animal control officer from Brockton found the den nearby.

“There were four kits all together, and three of them were already dead. And she was in really rough shape. And so when she came to the door, she wasn’t cute,” Mertz said.

Mertz said the animal is about 1-month-old. By four months old, it should be back in the wild.

“It belongs in the wild,” Mertz said.

But right now, it also belongs with another fox, a surrogate sibling, and without one the prognosis is bleak.

“For a singleton fox, what we really need is a twin. We need another baby fox in this mix because then the foxes will focus on each other,” Mertz said.

The New England Wildlife Center is working with its animal network to identify other orphaned foxes.

“They need to learn how to behave. They need to learn what they need to do to gather their food, to be protected,” Mertz said.

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