Some Oklahoma Natives Make An Appearance At River Parks

They're sly, swift, and scampering all over town. Red foxes are native to Oklahoma, but they're not just country foxes any more. This is about the time and the place for a fox sighting. The News

Wednesday, June 6th 2007, 8:06 pm

By: News On 6

They're sly, swift, and scampering all over town. Red foxes are native to Oklahoma, but they're not just country foxes any more. This is about the time and the place for a fox sighting. The News On 6â€™s Ashli Sims reports when the city lights dance on the Arkansas River and the park benches are long deserted, the shadows come alive.

One slips out from under cover of a tree, and it doesn't take long for others to follow. Tulsa's red foxes are on the prowl.

"They're numbers are increasing. And people are starting to see them more frequently, but they've been here in Tulsa for several years," said Mike McAllister of Oklahoma Wildlife Department.

Once a protected species, the red fox population has bounced back. And they've found a home in various places across the city.

"I was driving around and kinda looking for them. And I pulled into a parking lot and saw them running around by a picnic table," said News On 6 photojournalist Todd Ruffin.

Todd Ruffin captured the foxes on tape.

"I had to stay a good 500 yards away from them,â€ Ruffin said. â€œLuckily I have a zoom lens, and I used some digital effects to light it."

Ruffin spotted as many as half a dozen at once, playing, preening, and poking around River Parks. Wildlife experts say red foxes are typically loners, so this must have been a family. They say the foxes are quick, smart, and adapt easily, and theyâ€™re nothing to fear.

"They pose no health problems to people or to pets,â€ said McAllister. â€œThey feed on rodents, small rats and mice."

So instead of watching the Discovery Channel, turn off the TV and take a moonlit stroll.

"The main thing I would suggest to people is to just observe, take pictures, enjoy them. But as with all over wildlife, leave it alone," McAllister said.

Foxes have been spotted all over the place including Riverside, near St Francis hospital and the Tulsa County fairgrounds.

There are so many red foxes, you can actually hunt them during the season, but not in the city limits.