Fox walks off with boules balls

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PEBURTHE, France, April 30 (UPI) -- A French boules player whose balls kept disappearing from his private pitch said an infrared camera identified the thief -- a local fox.

Patrick Cazes, an amateur player of petanque, a form of the bocce-like sport boules, said 38 balls disappeared from his private pitch in the southern village of Peburthe between February and March, The Local.fr reported Monday.

Cazes said he initially thought local children were behind the thefts and installed an infrared camera to catch them red-handed, but he was surprised to find the camera instead recorded a local fox walking away with his sporting goods.

Cazes said he was surprised to see the fox so interested in the balls while ignoring a nearby henhouse.