There are more wild foxes in NJ than you might think

In the last 30 years, it's been rare to see a red fox in my neighborhood.

You might see one crossing the road on a couple of occasions late at night or early in the morning.

Now they've either multiplied at a faster rate than before or they just don't have enough natural predators to control their numbers.

There has been a little more building in our area, but not enough to cause any kind of large displacement.

Last week this little guy was sniffing the front tire of my car right in the driveway.

He had to cross the main road to get there.

I don't know if foxes eat rubber, so I nervously banged on the window to scare him off.

He looked curiously at the house and then continued to prance around the yard.

Just a day or two later, a woman noted on the Next-Door app claimed she saw a fox in her yard in a very populated development, which is about a mile away through some thick woods.

Other neighbors have since spotted him/her. The animal or animals don't appear to be rabid.

Unlike the deer going through rutting season right now, foxes usually mate between December and February.

There is a hunting season for foxes in New Jersey, but around here hunting any animal has become rarer and rarer in the last few years.

In some cases, homeowners have had to deal with these critters setting up a den on their property.

There are ways to deal with the issue if it becomes a problem, and if you have small animals for pets, it can become a problem.

I haven't seen this little guy since his visit last week and I'm not too concerned, but just so you know they are native here and their numbers seem to be on the rise.

They're not only in South Jersey. Both red and gray foxes are found all over New Jersey.

They are very adaptable and can live in urban and suburban areas as well.

A few summers ago there were a few spotted not far from Newark and Irvington in Maplewood.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy only.

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