Foxy predator jangles urban henhouse

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Wild animals often wander into neighborhoods on the edge of the city, but one bushy-tailed critter is prowling the center of Albuquerque perhaps in search of a chicken dinner.

Homeowner Lori Graham spotted the grey fox in her neighborhood near Hannett Avenue and Washington Street NE.

"I guess the chicken coop is like vending machine for the fox," Graham told KRQE News 13.

That backyard chicken coop is what Graham thinks keeps the fox hanging around her home.

Game Officer John Martsh with New Mexico Department of Game and Fish said a fox in the center of the city is rare.

"They will usually come down from the foothills looking for food," Martsh said. "Sometimes they just stay in the neighborhood if there is a lot of food."

Game officers set up a trap outside the home where the fox was seen and are using bacon to lure the fox into the cage.

"Our counterparts in Las Cruces have suggested bacon," game Officer Brandon Griffith said. "They catch a lot of foxes on bacon."

Graham said she is hoping little bit of bacon and a lot of patience will do the trick to catch the fox.

"Our concern is not so much for our safety, or even if we lost a chicken," she said. "It is for the animal's safety. There are a lot of roads and cars around here."

The neighborhood is a little south of Interstate 40 between Carlisle and San Mateo boulevards.

Game officers said the fox does not seem to be a threat to humans or animals. They plan to release it into the wilderness outside the city if and when they catch it.