The recent fox attack on a 2- year-old Denver girl was, by all accounts, unexpected. Neighbors knew the animal as a friendly presence. They fed her, watched her raise kits, and even named her “Foxy.”
Unfortunately, such familiarity is precisely the problem. Wild animals, whether they’re in the mountains or the most densely populated neighborhood, need to be treated as such.
That means not feeding them or encouraging them to lose their fear of humans.
Conflict between humans and wildlife is on the rise, and it’s not attributable merely to more development on the outskirts of urban areas. Foxes and coyotes have moved in to Denver’s urban neighborhoods, a potentially dangerous situation if residents treat them like pets.
In the incident last month, 2-year- old Jasmine Estrada Ibarra was playing with two older sisters in front of their home in the 3700 block of West Third Avenue when the attack occurred.
Neighbors heard her screaming for help and the little girl’s father came to his daughter’s aid. Jasmine was treated at a local hospital and sent home with scratches and bandages.
“There’s a real problem in that neighborhood,” said Tyler Baskfield, spokesman for the state Division of Wildlife. “People refuse to understand that they’re not doing wildlife a favor by feeding them.”
In 2004, the state enacted regulations enabling authorities to fine people who feed coyotes and foxes. The change was prompted by repeated encounters, including one in which workers at a fast-food restaurant had trained coyotes to put their paws on the drive-thru window in order to get hamburger buns. Reportedly, a woman was nipped by a coyote during one such feeding episode.
There’s no denying that there’s something special about seeing a fox trotting down an alley, its tail floating out behind it, or a coyote wandering across a golf course. But it’s important to remember that no matter how comfortable they appear to be living among us, we have to respect and help them maintain their wild nature.
