Mystery 'Tyco Animal' May Be Sampson's Fox
Friday March 24, 2006
Earlier this month, an unidentified animal spotted in the woods near North Carolina's Tyco Electronics campus created quite a stir, if not a full-blown urban myth. The creature (pictured here) has short grey fur, a slender head, large erect ears, and a long thin tail.
Photos of the animal were sent to experts at the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission who determed that the animal is most likely a red fox that has a rare genetic condition in which it lacks the outer layer of its coat. Such red foxes are called 'Sampson foxes'. Unlike normal red foxes that are nocturnal hunters, Sampson foxes may be more active during the warmer hours of the day since their thin coat lacks the insulation power that might make nighttime hunting appealing.
Find out more: Carolina Mystery Beast Is a Rare Abnormal Fox, Experts Say (National Geographic)
Comments
We had an article in the paper yesterday about what seems to be a population of these animals here in Charleston SC. There was a picture in the paper of one that had been killed by a car and the article said the lady who found it has it in her freezer until it can be identified to her satisfaction. In the picture it doesnt look a lot like your ordinary fox. Like the description given of a “Sampson” fox its fur seem shorter and its tail is not fluffy, but the legs seem awfully long for a fox. They said this was a young one and they had seen larger ones that were the size of a doe deer. I used to have a pet Norwegian Artic fox and it was nowhere near the size of a deer! I would really like to see one of these critters alive in a zoo so i could get a really good look at it.