It’s well known that there are foxes in Arlington County, but it’s not every day that one is caught on video.
ARLnow reader Ryan Fubini was in his car when he took this video of a fox scampering down a residential street in Cherrydale.
“I took it in front of my house as I was pulling out of the driveway [on] N. Nelson Street,” Fubini said. “We have seen foxes numerous times at our house. But this fox running down the sidewalk in the daytime was pretty surprising. What was more surprising is after I came back and parked my truck, he ran 6 feet right next to me down the sidewalk carrying another piece of wood.”
We asked the Animal Welfare League of Arlington whether residents should be worried about foxes in their community. Their answer: probably not.
From AWLA animal control officer Jen Toussaint:
That is indeed an adult red fox in the video… In urban environments wildlife is more accustomed to seeing people, cars and hearing sounds consistently. It is not abnormal to see urban wildlife out during the day!
This particular animal appears in very good health and condition. We do not trap nuisance wildlife here in Arlington but we do remove animals if they are sick or injured.
[I am] not using the word nuisance to mean that they are of harm to people or their companion animals. They are being a “nuisance” by showing up in peoples yards unwantedly or stealing food from trash cans and gardens. If managed properly foxes are not a risk to people or their pets.
Working to keep your yard clean and food sources, such as trash, properly contained will deter these animals (and others such as raccoon, etc.) from being in or near your home. Properly enclosing below decks and sheds will remove the possibility of a fox den nearby.
Indoor/outdoor cats should come in for the evening and feeding outside should be minimal. Foxes provide a wonderful service to the people of Arlington county including keeping our rodent and snake population down. As far as wildlife goes foxes do very minimal property damage if around.
If anyone ever has any questions or concerns about wildlife they should feel free to call Animal Control at 703-931-9241. We can give excellent deterrent methods to make your home and property less appealing as well as provide educational facts regarding their habits, behavior, and normalcies.