Something bad is going on in Wolfeboro...Sick Fox#2
 

So on the heels of my dead fox story...I noticed this fox out on Kingswood golf course today in broad daylight with golfers out on the greens. It looks almost as bad as the one I buried. It was all skinny, tail was thin, it's face looked old and its coat looked mangy and in bad shape. I'm thinking everyone should be careful while out walking their dogs in Wolfeboro. If you see one of these, stay away..
I also noticed it had something in it's mouth and was trying to bury it in the grass. It was also rolling around in the grass. Weird behavior rolling around like that...

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e2...b/IMG_1269.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e2...b/IMG_1270.jpg

Did you call NH Fish & Game yet to report this? It might be a good idea. After all, that golf course is near the schools and there's a lot of kids walking around in that area during the day, too.

Yeah they are pretty uninvolved in this. They are out of North Conway and don't want to drive down for a fox. I did send them a pic though.

I have never seen a fox try to bury food out in the open. Normally they hide it under leaves or under brush where it will be protected until they can come back for it. Not out on the open grass where any crow would see it burying it. That is my take on it from what I have observed any way...

This is what a healthy Red should look like...

http://froestin.smugmug.com/Other/Ne...47_ZpKef-L.jpg

Fox Mange
 

We had lots of foxes in our yard over the past 3-4 years. They keep having kits and then more kits with multi-generations. I tried many things to remove them including trapping and relocating them with not much succss.
Then this year we only saw one or two in the early spring during the day. We now have none! Speaking with someone who is in the know, he told me that they have a disease called "mange" that is killing them off.

Monday we were driving through the golf course and had to stop as a fox came walking up the middle of the road. This fox was a different color and it didn't look sick, but I was struck by it's very odd behavior and lack of fear.

Just about the time you found the dead fox, we had a dead raccoon in our yard in Wolfeboro. That was a first for me. He didn't look ill or like he had been in a fight. He looked like he just keeled over.

So looking at the picture of the fox on the golf course it looks to me like that guy was on the loosing end of a fight....usually if they have mange the entire coat of fur is all messed up... This guy is missing a patch from his rear leg and also at the end of his tail... other then that he looks alright. Also not that the patch of missing fur on his hind leg is starting to grow back in. As for his behavior on the golf course I really don't find that to troubling at all... I used to see them in the fields and apple orchards all the time growing up, and they would often bury things in the middle of them....Also adding to his somewhat messed up hair do is that right now he would be getting his brand new winter coat....

In short I am not saying to discredit anything you saw that made you question this animals behavior, but remember there is often more then one explanation. Now if Fish and Game is not responding out of Conway, I suggest calling the office in Concord, this is exactly what they are paid for, the need to come down and investigate. Your situation the other day I understand to some degree, but the proper response from them should have been, to call them back, if the Fox was still there later in the day. A dead animal like that should be checked for rabies, among other things.

I agree, that fox does not have what I have seen over the years as mange or at least a full blown case of it. Mange does have to start out small and usually at a single point on the skin.

The key indicator that will tell you that a fox is sick is that it will not spook, like a wild animal should. I have seen more noctornal animals during the day in my lifetime than at night. That factor alone does not make an animal sick.

The number you should be calling for an issue like this is Fish and Game Dispatcher at (603) 271-3361 or your local police.

jmen24 said, "I have seen more noctornal animals during the day in my lifetime than at night."

I wish I was smart enough to come up with something funny because this is just begging for it!

Bold foxes
 

We live near there and I can tell you from years past that this group of foxes is pretty bold. Both my husband and I have come across them sitting in the middle of our road and as you approach, they will just sit there and look at you. I have actually had to stop the car and wait for them to get up and move! And once while on his afternoon run, my husband came upon one in the middle of the road, and it would not move no matter how close he got, and how much yelling and waving of arms he did. Finally he ran home and had me drive him past that spot! Also, they are not truly nocturnal, and can be found hunting in the daytime especially when they have kits to feed.

Here is a great article about foxes:

http://www.hsus.org/wildlife/a_close..._the_gray.html

Most important things to not from the article relevent to this conversation,

They can be very bold....

Although nocturnal, it is not a surprise to see the in the daytime.......

Could there be any connection between the sick animals and the (former) toxic waste dump in Wolfeboro where PCBs were dumped?

Well like I said I did call the police and I did call F&G out of Concord that gave me the officers number out of N Conway. So I did try. I also called to tell them the first one died and sent them several pictures of both. No reply.

I did not see the #2 fox today at all. I did keep an eye out for it.

And at least the #2 fox was out getting food and burying stuff, so he must still be in its right mind, so to speak.

I guess I am just comparing the look of Fox 2 to the one of Dead Fox. They both looked...unkempt...compared the Gray foxes around my yard. Maybe I am just biased toward the Grays.:laugh:

Come on now, with an opening like that you can surely come up with something.:D

I assume though that you understand my comment in context.

I understood. It just hit me as funny.

Unfortunately, Lakes, you had the same experience with F&G that myself and neighbors have had in the past. They don't want to come. They are always busy.

Unfortunately, the Conservation Officers are busy, they miss out on a lot of personal things as well. The CO that lives a few houses down from me was unable to attend a gathering at my neighbors house a few weekends ago on a Sat. night, because she was dealing with a moose that had been hit. This was at 6:00 pm and was searching through the woods, instead of enjoying a nice evening with her husband and son.

We only have 36 Conservation officers for the entire state of NH. You really cannot expect them to show up to deal with a small animal that is not really posing a danger.

The biologist's should have some interest in wanting to test suspect animals, but that is a different story all together.

It's not something that's limited to the Lakes Region. Down here in PA, I nearly ran over a completely bald fox crossing a busy road at noon on Wednesday. It seemed somewhat disoriented, but trotted across the bypass and back into the woods.

Poor things seem to be especially prone to mange, which is reportedly a slow and agonizing way to go. It's probably the third or fourth such case I've seen in SE PA over the years. But this one was particularly disturbing as the fox was completely devoid of its coat.

The Kingswood fox pictured above appears to have it as well, given the patchy coat.

WoW! I'm new to forum, so I don't know what this is about. Could someone give me a few details on what happened ?

Several years back there was highly controversial discussion on another forum that no longer is running that PCBs from a now removed transformer substation in Wolfeboro were dumped improperly. An engineer involved in the project claims his cancer was caused by exposure to the PCBs ans was trying to make the issue public. Town fathers denied everything and claimed it never happened. There are a few members here that were part of that forum and maybe they remember more about it.