A mangy fox has been wandering the streets of Bay Head and Mantoloking for at least the past month and the cagey animal has managed to elude capture. Watch video
BAY HEAD -- Two Shore towns have an off-season visitor that is stirring up a bit of uneasiness for residents.
A mangy fox has been wandering the streets of Bay Head and Mantoloking for at least the past month and the cagey animal has managed to elude capture.
"I know people are concerned," said Bay Head Mayor William Curtis. "It looks bedraggled and mangy."
He said he hasn't seen the fox, but he knows residents have called police to report sightings, particularly around Centennial Park near the borough's business district and by the railroad loop at the NJ Transit rail yard on the western border.
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What he didn't know, though, was that the fox was actually seen trotting closer toward the oceanfront along East Avenue and headed into Mantoloking.
And now Mantoloking police are telling residents that they're aware of the fox sightings in their town.
That's prompted them to call on their animal control officer, Muskrat Jack Animal Services in Point Pleasant Beach, to try to catch the fox and get it some help. Police have warned residents not to have any interaction with the fox.
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Unfortunately, Muskrat Jack doesn't hold out much hope of being able to trap the animal.
"In my 50 years of doing this, I may have caught two," he said. "They're really tough to catch. Fox just do not trap up easy."
He said he's baited humane traps with sardines but the fox hasn't bitten. He's now working on a special formula he hopes will be more enticing.
A YouTube video of the animal shows that besides having patches of thin hair on its body, the fox is thin and missing most of the fir on its tail.
Muskrat Jack said the animal clearly has mange, a treatable disease caused by a parasite and results in the loss of hair.
If left untreated too long, it can weaken the animal's immune system and make him easy prey, Muskrat Jack said.
Mange is very different from rabies - which he said the fox does not have - because rabies is a neurological disorder that affects the brain stem.
Fox sightings aren't rare in the towns, but Curtis said they became less frequent after Hurricane Sandy three years ago.
"After the storm, they were missing, but now they're starting to come back," he said.
Muskrat Jack said that's most likely because as smart animals, the fox knew to move inland when the Shore was decimated.
He doesn't consider them wild animals, either.
"They are about as urbanized as any animal I've seen," he said. "They're as urbanized as any animal can be."
We have received several calls in reference to the fox below. Please know that we are working with Muskrat Jack to trap and get him some help.
Posted by Mantoloking Police Department on Monday, November 30, 2015
MaryAnn Spoto may be reached at mspoto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @MaryAnnSpoto. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
