# Have you ever seen a fox or sheep in real life? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 12, 2016, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179 "2016-06-12T11:16:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/41 "2016-06-12T16:04:32Z")
A fox ran through my campsite in Grand Teton, probably less that 5 feet from me (I was very careful about food – in any case he didn’t stop). I’ve seen them before but don’t recall the circumstances. See sheep more often, but less often than llamas (farm near me), goats and of course cows. (Probably see deer more often than sheep) Brian ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/42 "2016-06-12T16:09:17Z")
I worked with a girl who said she’d never seen a sheep closer than a white blob on a hill; the weird thing was, she grew up in **Wales**. We had a fox den in the back garden at my old house, the cubs would sit out and watch me gardening. There’s loads of urban foxes round here, I see far more now in Bristol than when I was living in the Northern English countryside. Fewer sheep though. ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/43 "2016-06-12T16:30:39Z")
> [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](#): > > Foxes used to be quite shy here in southern Finland but lately they’ve gotten a lot bolder and I see a fox at least once per month. Broke up an impending fox vs cat fight once by bicycling past. The increase in city rabbits probably has corresponding increase foxes. I live in Southern Espoo, at the coast, and you can see them quite often in the evening. Sometimes with something small and furry in their jaws. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/44 "2016-06-12T16:33:12Z")
I was out in the desert by Gila Bend with an astronomy club. It was as dark a night as you can have out here. We heard the sound of (what we thought were) kit foxes running around, but couldn’t see a thing. I put on my friend’s night vision goggles, and was surprised to see two fozes standing right beside me! Not two feet away. Their eyes glowing green orbs in the NVG. Bold little guys! I’ve also seen a coyote at my street corner in Mesa. They live in the golf courses out here (as well as out of town in the desert) but to see one on the street was unusual. ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/45 "2016-06-12T16:54:17Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > It would be helpful in threads like this if you told us where “around here” is. What RobDog said. > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > We heard the sound of (what we thought were) kit foxes running around, but couldn’t see a thing. I put on my friend’s night vision goggles, and was surprised to see two fozes standing right beside me! Not two feet away. Their eyes glowing green orbs in the NVG. Bold little guys! Wow! My experience is they’re quite shy. My closest encounter happened when I was exploring the over-grown part of an abandoned car-park. Pushed my way through some bushes and on the side there was a large mat of quite thick moss with a _huge_ fox lying on it. We met each others eyes, there was a pregnant pause, then he\* leapt up and disappeared into the trees on the other side. \*I’m guessing it was male because of the size, comfortable looking spot as well actually! > [@TriPolar](#): > > If you do see fox in the daytime there’s a good chance they are rabid so contact animal control. Thankfully rabies isn’t a thing in the UK. > [@RobDog](#): > > I’ve still got CCTV footage of a fox stealing half a dozen eggs, one at a time. It worked its way into the box and gently picked out one egg and trotted off with it to return five minutes later for another until they were all gone. Presumably it was taking them back to its cubs. That’s rather awesome, you should upload the footage on youtube. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/46 "2016-06-12T17:09:46Z")
Live in CA, moving back to OR shortly. Yes, have seen both on many an occasion. Once on break from university, I was driving with some girlfriends down to my folks’ house. We passed a wide variety of farmlands. My one friend yelled out, loudly, “sheepies,” at one point. My recollection is that she had either never or rarely, seen them before. The rest of us amused ourselves, as friends must, by yelling “sheepies”, “horsies”, “mooies”, etc, for the next several hundred miles. I still do it occasionally, but no one gets the joke. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/47 "2016-06-12T17:23:02Z")
> [@Disposable Hero](#): > > Thankfully rabies isn’t a thing in the UK. I didn’t know that. [Looking this up on the wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prevalence_of_rabies#United_Kingdom) I see that it’s been virtually eradicated for a while, but perhaps still survives in bats in Scotland? Rabies in dogs has been virtually eradicated here but the abundance of rabid bats, raccoons, skunks, and other wildlife keep it present and always a danger. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/48 "2016-06-12T17:29:00Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > I’m trying to get my mind around the idea that to some people, sheep are rare. > > Foxes, okay - they aren’t rare, but they’re inclined to be stealthy and definitely don’t hang in herds munching grass. But to find sheep rare in a temperate climate you’d have to act as if huge swaths of territory are off limits to you. I grew up in southern California near LA, where the towns have all run together. If you fly into LAX and look down, any green patches you see will be a golf courses or cemeteries. That said, we were just far enough from LA that there were a few individual acres still zoned agricultural. My folks bought one and my sisters raised sheep in 4-H. We also had chickens and had to protect them from possums. I didn’t see a fox until I went to UC Davis (northern California), which has big ag fields around it. > [@brainstall](#): > > . . . When I lived in a very rural area for a couple of years, I often heard them, . . . . So, what DOES the fox say? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/49 "2016-06-12T17:51:47Z")
Fox–out here at Nashville International. One trotted along, bold as you please, within 20 feet of me, & never gave me a second look. Ran right through the Air Guard gates, likely on his way to the garbage in back of the Mess. Sheep–in Wisconsin, in the 70s. Some of a nearby farms got loose, & Dad spent the day catching & penning them. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/50 "2016-06-12T17:53:19Z")
There’s a farm with sheep a few miles away & fox are not that uncommon around here; probably 3 sightings a month in the warmer weather. There was a den with six pups [nearby](https://www.flickr.com/photos/74663312@N08/7173688433/). ---
**Author:** ![PlaceboTarget](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/placebotarget/32/1073_2.png) [@PlaceboTarget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlaceboTarget)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/51 "2016-06-12T18:47:52Z")
I see sheep, foxes and other animals whenever I go hiking. That includes brown bears, which can be quite a scary experience. I’m from Romania. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/52 "2016-06-12T18:58:53Z")
> [@Disposable Hero](#): > > … > That’s rather awesome, you should upload the footage on youtube. Very well… quality isn’t great as it’s at night so using infra-red, and it keeps setting the security light off too, but since you asked 🙂 Here it is making an unholy mess and making off with the first one. I won’t upload the rest as watching that happen five more times over half an hour is about as interesting as it sounds! [Stop… thief!](https://youtu.be/iuHcOOSlnko) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/53 "2016-06-12T18:59:37Z")
I’ve only ever seen two foxes—once in Wales and once in San Diego (Point Loma—one of the little grey foxes). I saw the San Diego one quite regularly, though: she had a den near my bicycle commute route. Sheep by the gazillions, mostly in Wales. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/54 "2016-06-12T20:45:52Z")
I’ve seen sheep at an orchard near my parents’ house. The sheep all have names like Sweater, Mitten, Scarf, etc. (There was a chart with photos.) I’ve seen foxes a few times in my neighborhood, but not for years. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/55 "2016-06-12T20:52:59Z")
Our next door neighbours on both sides have sheep. I don’t usually see foxes - usually the first I know of it is our dog chasing one off - but one time I got lucky and found one one morning and took a few photos. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/56 "2016-06-12T21:00:54Z")
In our backyard, we have seen fox, deer, bear, and moose. Never seen a sheep in our backyard, although there are some in the neighborhood. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/57 "2016-06-12T21:02:24Z")
> [@PlaceboTarget](#): > > I see sheep, foxes and other animals whenever I go hiking. That includes brown bears, which can be quite a scary experience. I’m from Romania. I envy you the bears – we got rid of ours in the UK, about 500 AD. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/58 "2016-06-12T21:11:03Z")
I grew up in an area of West Los Angeles near “Fox Hills.” Now, it’s just a shopping mall, but there are two large cemeteries adjacent (Holy Cross and Hillside), so they could still be there. And, of course, there were the deaf rabbits at LAX. But I never saw either. I’m even closer to LAX now, but what I see regularly are raccoons, possums, freakin’ grey squirrels and, lately, coyotes (one tried to snatch one of our dachshunds a couple of months ago – yikes). I saw a bighorn sheep on a camping trip once (!). That was huge. But I don’t see sheep hardly even, unless I’m driving waaaaay outta town. Don’t see foxes. My older sister’s in Ventura County (north of LA County), and they have bobcats and mountain lions. Once a giGANtic rattlesnake slithered into their garage. Animal Control got it. Oh, and I saw a Mojave Green in Death Valley on a camping trip years ago. We gave it a very wide berth. Driving from LA to Eureka and back over the years, the most ubiquitous critter is the Turkey Vulture. They were like my creepy guardian angels. ETA: Over the last month or so I’ve seen a hawk on our street and in our comples (checking out the squirrels and pigeons, and being chased by crows). I think it’s a Sharp-Shinned Hawk, because it looks like a Cooper’s Hawk, but is relatively small. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/59 "2016-06-12T21:39:29Z")
I was just discussing with someone the other day about the lack of urban foxes here in Sweden. Being from the UK I am very used to both sheep and foxes. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179/60 "2016-06-12T21:46:32Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I didn’t know that. [Looking this up on the wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prevalence_of_rabies#United_Kingdom) I see that it’s been virtually eradicated for a while, but perhaps still survives in bats in Scotland? Rabies in dogs has been virtually eradicated here but the abundance of rabid bats, raccoons, skunks, and other wildlife keep it present and always a danger. For a long time the UK was as strict as the likes of Australia when it came to animal movements (being mostly an island and the one border being to the rest of an island made it easy) but with the likes of pet passports it has eased of late. There was always a paranoia about rabies, which was well seen in the early 1980s TV show ‘The Mad Death’ which depicted a rabies outbreak after (IIRC) a woman smuggles a dog through customs. > **[The Mad Death](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mad_Death)** > > The Mad Death is a television serial made by BBC Scotland. It was filmed in 1981 and transmitted 2 years later in 1983. > The three-part series examined the effects of an outbreak of rabies in the United Kingdom and was noted for its occasionally chilling content. > The music for the opening titles consisted of a voice whispering the first four lines of All Things Bright and Beautiful over a montage of animals' faces, distorted by a rippling water effect, symbolising the hydrophobia caused by ra... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-or-sheep-in-real-life/757179.md?page=4)