the alleged mystery case: <stamp> clarified
Looks like Timber was right. I just saw on the news that they have captured the animal and that it is indeed a red fox.
Quote:
Baby Md. Mystery Animal Caught, Identified
GLYNDON, Md. -- The mystery may be over as one of the creatures roaming through central Maryland was finally captured on Saturday.
According to the veterinarians at Falls Road Animal Hospital in Baltimore, the animal was a male red fox. However, Dr. Michael Herko -- a vet at the animal hospital -- and the man who caught the fox say it is not the mysterious creature videotaped in July, but a relative ...
Pretty much what I figured. One thing I'd be real conerned about if I were a pet owner in the neighborhood is that mange is contagious as hell, and there simply is no such thing as one fox ... which, as the one captured is a "Baby" , not the one videotaped earlier, is evident. I think it likely there are several infected critters roaming the area; fox rarely have just one kit, the breeding pair pretty much stick to a relatively well defined territory, and if one in the den group has mange, all of 'em do.
Well, whatever it is, I hope they feed and treat it. Poor thing seemed to be really suffering.
Buncha stuff I may not have a handle on, but about 50 years of hikin', huntin', trappin, fishin', and just plain sittin' and watchin' has left me pretty comfortable with critters and their ways.
I figure that kit lucked out; it'll get treated and likely do just fine. Capturin' the adults might prove a little trickier; there's a reason "foxy" is a synonym for "clever", and its little wonder folks say "crazy like a fox" ... them is crafty critters fer sure.
Good going guys! I still couldn't see the fox in that mystery critter.
I am so very happy to see that they caught one of them, so they can treat it and take it out of its obvious suffering. Now I hope they can catch the others. As timbers said "mange is highly contagious" and they all need to be treated to stop the spreading.
Littlek
It is hard to picture any animal without its fur. If I didn't see foxes daily, I would have never even thought of them. The things that convinced me are the length of the tail, it's small size, and the way it sat.
If I remember correctly, Montana, you thought it was an aardvark.
Yeah, but that's before I saw it sit ;-)
