MORE FOXES ARE TAKING UP RESIDENCE IN CAPE

A red fox scampered across a busy downtown Cape Girardeau street on Monday surprising motorists and passersby, and demonstrating this is one wild animal that won't be outfoxed even in the city.

Red foxes are increasingly at home in Cape Girardeau. "It's amazing how they adapt to us," said Missouri Department of Conservation agent Gary Newcomb.

"It is very common for them to come out in the day time," he said. "They are mostly nocturnal animals, but they do feed in the day time."

Said Newcomb, "They get used to people, used to cars, used to being around pets."

Newcomb said his office routinely hears from Cape Girardeau residents who report seeing foxes.

The fox spotted downtown about 7:30 a.m. Monday was chasing a squirrel. The inquisitive fox stopped briefly by the First Presbyterian Church to eye an amateur photographer who snapped a picture.

Foxes are hard to catch, said Matt Anders, an animal-control officer for the city of Cape Girardeau. "I have been with the department a year and a half, and I have never caught a fox," he said.

Foxes are quick and prefer live bait, he said. "Their main diet is small rodents," he said.

"You will find them living in sewers and drainage pipes, and small holes underneath wood piles and underneath sheds," said Anders.

Both Newcomb and Anders said that while foxes are cute, it's best for people to keep their distance. Foxes are wild animals and can carry diseases such as rabies, they said.

"They are definitely nothing to try to mess with," said Newcomb. "They will bite you, even the little ones."