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A rare white fox was captured Thursday in Franklin after spending the last few weeks visiting various yards near the state forest. The gregarious vixen, with soft streaks of red and black in her fur and black-tipped ears, was taken in by the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife after she was caught in cooperation with the Franklin animal control department. The capture followed a sighting reported to the agency Thursday morning, the MetroWest Daily News reported. Dave Wattles, a black bear and furbearer biologist with the Division of Fisheries & Wildlife involved with the case, said the fox showed no indications of being rabid, though she has been vaccinated. Since foxes native to Massachusetts are red or grey, it is believed this fox may be a descendant of foxes that were bred in the past by furriers crossing red foxes and arctic foxes in an effort to create an animal with a highly desirable coat. Wildlife authorities surmise someone may have been keeping the fox as a pet, since she is so friendly and unafraid of people. If that is the case, she may have been intentionally released into the wild or escaped. "Red Fox do not change their coat for winter," Wattles explained. "The coloration of this animal matches very closely with color phases that were intentionally bred by the fur industry to produce desired pelts. This was achieved by breeding arctic fox (which are white) with red fox or gray fox." While he is uncertain of how far back the fox's ancestry may go, the fur industry is known to have intentionally bred foxes for optimal pelt coloration from the 1890s at least through the 1960s. Wattles said while the vixen appears to have this ancestry, "that does not mean that this animal was released or escaped directly from a fur farm. More likely the animal's ancestors were from the fur industry. Based on the behavior of this animal, however, it likely was an animal that was kept as an illegal pet." He said the fox is "completely comfortable around people, getting onto people's porches, not running away, etc." "After it was captured it was calm in the cage, and approached a hand held up as if it was coming for a treat," Wattles said, adding, "I have since seen a video from the facility it was taken to of the manager holding it and it lying there like a cat. So clearly it was someone's pet in the past." Residents Virna and Jay O'Brien and their children were among those who were cautiously enjoying the tiny canine's appearances in their yard since mid-November. Their property borders the state forest. "We found (the fox) on our front porch right outside the front door the night before Thanksgiving," said Virna O'Brien. She noted that her neighbor reported seeing the fox show up at her house "every day like clockwork." The fox was also enjoying resting atop the O'Briens' shed and visiting other spots. The family first spotted the fox laying in their driveway and thought she might be injured because she didn't move when they opened the door to get a closer look. She eventually did move away, "but seemed in no hurry." The family spotted the fox several more times, most recently on their shed roof grooming herself as the sun was coming up. Jay O'Brien got a photo of the moment. Animal sightings are not unusual for the O'Brien family because of their location next to the state forest, "but the fox is a first," O'Brien said. The family enjoyed observing the fox through their windows when she came around, watching her stalking prey. "I actually looked up how foxes stalk prey because my 6-year-old daughter and I observed (the fox) doing this strange bunny hop-like behavior," O'Brien said. "Turns out it's typical fox hunting behavior." She said the fox appeared healthy and beautiful, but the family remained cautious and did worry about encounters between the fox and themselves, their children, their dog or their neighbors and their children. While the visitor was interesting, O'Brien admitted it was getting troubling that she was coming around so much and didn't appear afraid of them, though she was certainly "a beautiful sight to behold." Wattles said the vixen is being cared for at an undisclosed facility for exotic animals. She will not be released in the the wild, but will be kept in captivity. "It is not a native animal of Massachusetts and we would not want it to be in the wild," he said. "It has genes of arctic fox (the white color), not a native species to Massachusetts or our region. We would not want those genes to be mixed into our native red or gray fox populations. Additionally, given its captive past, it likely would not be able to survive on its own in the wild."