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Rare white fox captured in Massachusetts may have fur trade ancestry

By Ben Hooper
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FRANKLIN, Mass., Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Massachusetts wildlife officials said a rare white fox captured after weeks of sightings likely has ancestry in the fur trading industry and was once someone's pet.

Franklin residents first reported seeing the unusual fox wandering their neighborhoods about a month ago and they reported the animal would frequently sit on their porches and approach humans for food.

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"We talked to the animal control officer in Franklin and learned people were feeding the animal, so we decided to remove the animal," Dave Wattles, a state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife biologist, told the Boston Globe.

Wattles said officials were also concerned the fox could breed with native red foxes and could face hardships when winter falls.

Wattles said an animal control officer captured the fox on a commercial property Thursday morning. He said the captured animal appears to be a mix of fox breeds and likely has ancestry from the fur trading business.

"In the past, the fur trade business would try to breed foxes together to get the most valuable furs," Wattles said.

"The coloration of this animal matches very closely with color phases that were intentionally bred by the fur industry to produce desired pelts. This was achieved by breeding arctic fox (which are white) with red fox or gray fox," Wattles told Wicked Local Franklin.

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He said the fox's behavior indicates it was kept as a pet and either escaped or was released into the wild by its owner.

"It's very healthy, and it's a beautiful animal," Wattles said. "It just isn't wild."

He said the fox will be cared for at a sanctuary for exotic animals and will not be released back into the wild.

"It is not a native animal of Massachusetts and we would not want it to be in the wild," he said. "It has genes of arctic fox, not a native species to Massachusetts or our region. We would not want those genes to be mixed into our native red or gray fox populations. Additionally, given its captive past, it likely would not be able to survive on its own in the wild."

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