yes, every mammal can get rabies. But it’s mostly carried by predators, because it’s usually caught from eating rabid prey or sometimes from fighting.
Anyway, we have a pair of foxes living near (maybe in) my backyard this year. They are often out during the day, but I’m pretty sure they aren’t rabid. They act perfectly normal and they actually look sleeker and healthier than they did early in the spring (presumably because they are better fed now.) They are really cute, and I’m enjoying their presence. And also enjoying the slightly lower number of rabbits.
But part of “acting normal” is that they are shy and skittish of humans. They ignore us talking in the house, but if I open the back door they disappear fast. (And once my husband scared one away by clapping loudly in the house.)
I would avoid any fox that wasn’t trying to avoid me. Maybe it’s just been fed by humans, but maybe it has rabies. Why take chances? And yeah, if one advanced on me as if it thought I might be prey, I would go indoors and call animal control. (I don’t have a gun. If I had one and were a good shot, yes, i’d kill an aggressive fox, too.) But that is defintely not normal fox behavior.
I thought I had remembered hearing that opossums can’t get rabies. From what I see online, they can, but it’s very rare, possibly because of their low body temperature compared to other mammals.
We believe one of our mini dachshunds (small even for a mini) was killed by a fox that got into the house. Not a coyote as the body was not dragged out and she died by a killing bite on her neck that got her carotid. Her bigger brother and the akita were untouched.
Our closest encounter with a fox was when Mrs. J. was walking Pluto out by the barn and a fox ran out, screamed when it saw them and ran back in. I suppose that reflects wariness around humans.
All mammals can be infected by rabies virus, but a specie’s social behavior determines how common it is in the species.
Raccoons are social animals, so a healthy animal being approached by an infected individual doesn’t run off, thereby more likely interacting and being bitten.
Bears can be infected with rabies, but they are mostly solitary. A rabid bear interacting with pretty much any other mammal will typically kill it, so it fails to infect.
Bats are interesting because they can recover from infection. Spelunkers will sometimes get vaccinated out of fear for aerosolized virus in caves.
I know when foxes, coons, crows and, yes even possums are close to the house by my garage cats getting fat tail. Their hair stands on end.
If I see it I start looking.
The coons scare me the most. About rabies.
The foxes are a rare sighting. Altho this is supposedly fox country.
, by the telling of old-timers.
The ones we’ve seen usually look as though the have an appointment somewhere else…on the move.
We have had coyotes who realized the auto-feeder in the beagle kennel shoots out food. I assume the foxes have noticed as well. There’s always some food that gets thrown out the fence.
Unless wildlife presents an obvious danger we try to ignore it or relocate it and keep pets and kids away.
I’ve had a few exceptions, that being feral hogs. They get close enough, they die. Horrible scourge on this country.
I’ve only seen one fox in the wild, not too far from here. But it was near the edge of a wooded patch of parkland or adjacent-to-parkland, staying under cover, which seemed normal enough fox behavior. I’m sure there are more around (it’s nonsensical to suppose that there’s only the one), but if so, they seem healthily inclined to avoid contact with humans.
So, as you got closer and closer to it, and it didn’t move but stayed in the middle of the sidewalk, would you at any point yell at it or try to make it move?
I tend to be in the “keep walking” camp, and my wife in the “let’s cross the street” camp. (Which means we cross the street! ) Our dog does tend to be on the nervous side, and proximity to a fox doesn’t exactly calm him down and contribute to good leash behavior.
I’ve known people like this most of my life. They believe they are “helping out” the wildlife, when in reality they are putting the wildlife into more danger. Encouraging interactions between wildlife and humans always works out worse for the wildlife in the end, regardless of the human’s good intentions.
I read of an experiment in which somebody bred generation after generation of the friendliest foxes. Surprisingly quickly, the experiment converged on very nice friendly pets. Interestingly, they were indistinguishable from Collies.
So I’m guessing the way I would react would be to name them Lassie, and go searching for Grandpa down a well someplace when they act upset.
This is a very famous experiment in Russia which yielded a lot of data about neonatalism in canids. They were not indistinguishable from collies, which are not even the same genus. They did develop white on their extremities and head, much like dogs, because friendliness and white points are both caused by neonatalism (stopping in utero development before completion so that puppy traits are retained). White points are due to pigmentation ceasing development before it reaches the extremities.
I do not interact with wildlife as if we were in the garden of fucking eden. I would give any animal acting unnaturally a lot of space. In fact I do the same for animals acting naturally.
It took many years. So it’s not gonna happen in the wild.
I assume, had a bit of experience, there are outliers in every species. The odd hippo that decided your just the best thing ever and comes to visit(if you live in their vicinity).
Or a bird friend who comes to only your yard to sing every evening.
Or, yes, a possum who becomes your best friend, no matter how many times he’s removed from the deck.
Mostly encounters with wildlife are pleasant diversions of watching from afar, but can be dangerous if you’re not careful.
If I encountered a fox, face to face, I’d be still and see if it passes by or runs off.
I think a dog who isn’t prey driven will stand back, maybe bark.
An off leash dog who wants to chase, I bet a fox could out run, out hide and get away, easily.
They are clever. And have burrows for just such events.
Oh no. Give it distance, certainly, but no sudden moves or noises- and it the skunk turns it’s back and starts stamping it’s little legs- move away quickly. We get skunks once in a while, but too many of our neighbors use that really nasty rodenticide.
We do put out water during the hot months and fires, but we only feed the birds. Mostly sparrow, finches, and a few Jays- not to mention the Raven, who get peanuts.
) Our dog does tend to be on the nervous side, and proximity to a fox doesn’t exactly calm him down and contribute to good leash behavior.