After spotting a fox caught in chain-link fencing during a morning walk with his dog in Montecito, resident Paul Rooney went home to call for help. Firefighters later cut the animal loose and released it back into the wild.<\/p>\n
Here’s what to know<\/p>\n
According to Noozhawk<\/a>, Rooney noticed the fox at about 8 a.m. while walking his dog, Angel. Crews were sent at about 8:30 a.m. after he reported the animal.<\/p>\n Montecito Fire District spokesperson Christina Atchison said the fox was then safely released into its natural habitat after firefighter Charles Spencer “held the fox steady” while firefighter-paramedic Shaun Whilt “carefully snipped the fence” to free it, Noozhawk reported.<\/p>\n The fox was trapped in chain-link fencing in a residential area, illustrating how easily human-made obstacles can harm wildlife where neighborhoods and habitat overlap.<\/p>\n More background<\/p>\n Because he wasn’t carrying a cell phone on the walk, Rooney told Noozhawk he had to go home before calling the Montecito Fire Department.<\/p>\n “I couldn’t just not do nothing,” Rooney said. “[The firefighters] are unbelievable \u2014 not only for fire, but for things like this. If nobody noticed [the fox], I don’t think it would’ve survived.”<\/p>\n As encounters between wild animals and humans<\/a> become more common where development overlaps with habitat, everyday infrastructure can pose serious dangers to animals, even without intent to harm them.<\/p>\n What’s being done?<\/p>\n Because the fox was trapped by fencing rather than a natural feature, the hazard may be preventable. Human-built barriers can determine whether an animal moves through safely or ends up needing rescue.<\/p>\n “The fox was safely released back into its natural habitat,” Atchison said, according to Noozhawk. “We’re glad we could help this furry little community member get out of a tight spot and back where it belongs.”<\/p>\n Where can I learn more?<\/p>\n These stories look further at what can happen when wildlife runs into fences, neighborhoods, and other parts of the built environment.<\/p>\n \u2022 At Sweetbriar Nature Center, a three-legged fox kit<\/a> recovered after a New York fence rescue.<\/p>\n \u2022 In Dallas, officials weighed lethal force for coyotes<\/a> after a troubling neighborhood encounter.<\/p>\n \u2022 Across parts of Africa, costly clashes with wildlife<\/a> intensified where communities border animal habitat.<\/p>\n Get TCD’s free newsletters<\/a> for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After spotting a fox caught in chain-link fencing during a morning walk with his dog in Montecito, resident…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":507293,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8],"class_list":["post-507292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=507292"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507292\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/507293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=507292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=507292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=507292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}