Canada

Winnipeg Sun
By JOYANNE PURSAGA, SUN MEDIA

Two wild playground visitors surprised kids travelling between day care and elementary school yesterday.

Slavica Maric, a supervisor at Carpathia Children's Centre on Grant Avenue, said a pair of red foxes were spotted shortly after 8:30 a.m., as staff were walking kids across the field to J.B. Mitchell School.

"At one point we stopped and the fox was right in front of us, maybe a few metres away," said Maric. "At that time you are scared because if they get closer to the children, how will the children react?"

Maric said the animals ran off as soon as the children came near.

She said one fox darted into traffic and narrowly missed being hit by a van on Lanark Street, but for the most part it was a rare sight the kids took in stride.

"They were beautiful animals, lying in the snow and resting," said Maric. "There was a lot of excitement."

Kim Perring, director of On The Move day care, located in the same building as Carpathia, said the children's reaction was mixed.

"Some of the kids were frightened, and one little guy was trying to call (the foxes) like a pet to see them," said Perring.

ANIMAL SERVICES

Perring called Animal Services for assistance, but the animals quickly ran off the property and did not require removal.

She said a staff member at the agency told her it was likely a female fox was being chased out of her natural habitat while in heat.

J. B. Mitchell rang its bell a few minutes before the regular 8:50 a.m. scheduled time. The principal said the incident was handled quite smoothly, despite the fact staff at the day cares and school has not dealt with foxes on the property before.

"Everybody was pretty calm. A few kids were just a little concerned about what would happen to the animals," said Marie Giasson.

Comment: I loved this because it's true - kids love stuff like this. We're in a rural area as well. We had a coyote in our back field just three weeks ago.