Urban fox numbers on the rise as one is pictured with a chook in its mouth in a suburban yard 

Lock up your chickens! Fox pictured with a chook in its mouth on a suburban street as the numbers of the animals in urban areas increases

  • A number of urban fox sightings in Sydney suburbs have got residents worried
  • One animal the ‘size of a labrador’ was spotted with a dead chicken in its mouth
  • Another was recently seen in someone’s front yard in the suburb of Gladesville 
  • Fox density in urban areas is currently at about 10 animals per square kilometre

A number of urban fox sightings have got residents worried about the safety of their suburbs, as one animal ‘the size of a labrador’ was spotted with a dead chicken in its jaws.  

Tilly Simpson, 25, was driving through Ryde, north-western Sydney on Saturday night when she spotted the fox at about 10pm. 

The huge animal crossed Victoria Road with what appeared to be a fully-grown chicken hanging limply from its mouth, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

A number of urban fox sightings have got residents worried about the safety of their suburbs, as one animal ‘the size of a labrador’ was spotted with a dead chicken in its jaws (pictured)

‘I called my boyfriend’s mum and I said: “Put your chickens away because there’s a fox across the road with a chicken in its mouth and it’s heading in your direction”,’ Ms Simpson said.

‘It was just so bizarre. I haven’t seen them so close to the road or in the city suburbs before… [and] this one was really smart… I was amazed.’

Ms Simpson claims it’s not uncommon for people to find the neighbourhood pests showing up in their yards in the nearby suburbs of Woolwich and Hunters Hill.

Warren Bromfield, for one, was out for a walk with his girlfriend recently in the north Sydney suburb of Gladesville when they both spotted a fox standing in the front yard of someone’s house.

Another fox was spotted  in the front yard of someone's house in the north Sydney suburb of Gladesville (pictured)

Another fox was spotted in the front yard of someone’s house in the north Sydney suburb of Gladesville (pictured)

While City of Ryde council has a program in place to curb the growth of urban fox populations, legal restrictions concerning the areas where control methods can be implemented mean it is not as effective as possible.

The ready availability of food in urban garbage bins – and suburban chicken coops, as it were – only exacerbates the problem further.

Fox density in urban areas is currently about 10 per square kilometre, according to best available estimates.  

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