Images of a red fox on the Ocean City Boardwalk on Wednesday morning generated hundreds of likes, shares and comments after they were posted to a Facebook page.
Laura Bunt shared the photos on the public "You're Probably From Ocean City If ..." group with the caption, "The fox was begging for Brown's donuts this morning." Brown's is on the north end of the boardwalk at St. Charles Place.
Lots of Brown's doughnut fans responded with the light-hearted "smart fox," but the photos should serve as a reminder never to feed the animals.
Ocean City is home to a growing population of red foxes, and the animals are becoming increasingly comfortable with their human neighbors.
With pups grown enough to leave their dens by June, fox sightings increase in late spring and early summer — particularly on trash nights and in places where people might be feeding them, according to Bill Hollingsworth, executive director of the Humane Society of Ocean City, which is responsible for animal control in the municipality.
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If you have your own photos of red foxes in Ocean City, use the hashtag #OCNJRedFox to post them to social media or send a copy to OCNJ Daily at [email protected].
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The Humane Society is not allowed to euthanize a healthy animal, and state law forbids them from relocating wildlife off the island (except to rehabilitation centers willing to accept them), Hollingsworth told OCNJ Daily last year. There are several active dens in Ocean City, he said.
Hollingsworth said in the four years the Humane Society has been doing animal control in Ocean City, it has received no report of aggressiveness to people or animals and it has identified no rabid or diseased foxes.
“People don’t need to be afraid of them,” he said. “They do come out.”
He said people should be educated about them — never feed them, use lids on trash cans and use outdoor lighting to keep them away from backyards. They are most active in the early morning and late evening.
The red fox is not indigenous to Ocean City. The animals likely traveled across the causeways just like human visitors do. They have lived here for years, but the number of active dens is growing.
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