The Adobe Flash Player is required to view this multimedia interactive. Get it here.

Fox family, coyote spotted near school, neighborhood

On Tuesday, May 25, a fox family arrived to dig for scraps in the mulch pile in the fenced yard of Bob and Marcia Treadway of Washington Twp. A father, mother and one young fox (called a kit or a pup) can be seen. The two foxes in this photo are the parents.

Contributed photo On Tuesday, May 25, a fox family arrived to dig for scraps in the mulch pile in the fenced yard of Bob and Marcia Treadway of Washington Twp. A father, mother and one young fox (called a kit or a pup) can be seen. The two foxes in this photo are the parents.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Three foxes are shown in the back yard of Bob and Marcia Treadway of Washington Twp. The young fox on the right began tumbling around with his dad. He would not stay still.

Contributed photo by Marcia Treadway Three foxes are shown in the back yard of Bob and Marcia Treadway of Washington Twp. The young fox on the right began tumbling around with his dad. He would not stay still.

ENLARGE PHOTO

A mother fox on the left is eating the scraps on a mulch pile in the back yard of Washington Twp. residents Bob and Marcia Treadway on Tuesday, May 25. The father fox is on right. They appear to have a nearby den.

Contributed photo A mother fox on the left is eating the scraps on a mulch pile in the back yard of Washington Twp. residents Bob and Marcia Treadway on Tuesday, May 25. The father fox is on right. They appear to have a nearby den.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Santorum to visit Warren County
New 29 min. ago 2/12/12
Benefit dinner held for girl  who died in car accident
2/12/12
Suburbs looking for ways to save, focus on regional issues
2/12/12
Victim of human trafficking speaks to students
2/12/12
Bullying law brings rule changes
2/12/12
> More headlines

By Katherine Ullmer, Staff Writer Updated 11:50 AM Wednesday, May 26, 2010

WASHINGTON TWP., Montgomery County — A family of foxes and at least one coyote have been spotted in the area of Weller Elementary School off Sheehan Road in recent days.

Wildlife officials say residents should be wary of foxes since they might attack small and domestic animals, and that coyotes could be aggressive.

Marcia Treadway, who lives near the school, said she watched three foxes play in a mulch pile and chase squirrels and birds in her fenced back yard earlier today, May 25. She snapped pictures of them before her husband, Bob, chased them away. “They jumped over the fence,” she said.

Weller principal Theresa Gum said there have been no reported sightings of foxes or coyotes on school grounds. She was unaware they were in the area. She said students are always accompanied by teachers when they go outside.

Rick Jasper, assistant wildlife management supervisor for Ohio Division of Wildlife’s District 5 office, said he has received five calls in the past week about foxes in the area. Foxes weigh about 10 to 15 pounds and are not known for attacking people but will attack cats. He said residents should keep their cats inside and watch them when they go out.

Jasper said foxes are protected in Ohio, and can only be trapped with a state permit between November and January, when its fur is thickest. They cannot be hunted or transported, he said.

Encroaching in yards

The fox and coyote populations have encroached into residential areas in recent years possibly for two reasons, Jasper said. Since coyotes kill fox, the foxes have retreated to backyards to seek protection and shelter under decks. Once foxes breed in the area, its first encounters are often with people. They “hear, see, smell them all the time, so they’ve lost a lot of their fear of them,” he said.

Once here, foxes adapt similar to Canada geese and do not move away. They often go after ducks, chickens, cats and other small critters, because “they do have to feed their family,” Jasper said. Unless they are eating a property owner’s chickens, and that owner has a permit, can the fox be killed, he said. They often hunt for food within a 2-mile range.

Coyotes, on the other hand, can be hunted and trapped year round, by people with a hunting and trapping permits, Jasper said. There are a few restrictions during the deer hunting gun season.

Coyotes and foxes should be harassed to leave an area where they are unwanted, he said. Coyotes have on rare occasion been known to attack young toddlers, though there are no recent reports of attacks.

Concerned about children in backyard

Jasper said having a fox family in your yard is a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity to observe this type of wildlife close up.

For the past few weeks, Treadway said she and her husband have spotted a pair of foxes running through unfenced backyards behind Weller.

Last week, when she spotted a fox she grew concerned about the welfare of other wildlife that frequent her yard. The Treadways feed the birds, squirrels, chipmunks and a pair of ducks, she said. The rabbits in her yard have disappeared. “Nothing has been nibbled in my garden this year,” she said. “I suspect the fox have gotten them.”

On May 18, she had been working in her garden when suddenly “there was a massive disturbance about 25 feet away. The ducks flew away. The birds left in a mass panic. And the squirrels seemed to explode into the trees.

“That is when I saw the fox inside our fenced yard. I became startled as I didn’t realize a fox can be that large. And then in an instant, it took one step and jumped over the fence, clearing it by about six inches. This frightened me because only a few days ago in that area my two youngest grandchildren were playing there.”

She wondered whether a fox might harm a small child. “My husband and I decided we will not be letting our cats outside anymore,” she said.

On another occasion, they were standing by the living room window counting the squirrels and had gotten to 11, when she commented that “the fox must not like squirrels.”

“Maybe they are too fast,” her husband replied, jokingly.

Nesting in their yard?

“Just as we began to laugh, the fox was in our yard again chasing the squirrels,” she said. “It was huge. It missed the squirrel it was after, but I didn’t see it jump over the fence. It went behind our brush area where we grow maiden grasses to hide the brush. My husband ran out there with a big stick, and it was gone. I am worried it may have a den in our yard or very near our yard. This was scarier than when we saw a coyote run through the front yards of our street about six months ago,” she said.

Treadway said she knows there are coyotes living in the tree line near the former Ethel Winterhalter land along Ohio 48, south of the Elder-Beerman store, where her father-in-law owns Treadway Gardens, a local farm market.

Jasper told Treadway if they stop feeding the birds, the foxes will still come around.

He advises people to enjoy the foxes, but do not take chances and be sure young children are monitored when playing outside.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2341 or kullmer@DaytonDailyNews.com.

Share this article