Trampolining fox greets mother and daughter
'Sure enough, there was a fox'
Gina Beaton is used to seeing foxes around her property, north of Charlottetown, but not where she saw one when she got up Tuesday morning to let her dogs out.
She first had a suspicion something was going on when the dogs started barking more than usual.
"Usually when they bark a lot I look out to make sure they're not going to chase anything and, sure enough, there was a fox jumping on the trampoline," said Beaton.
"My daughter loves animals, so I immediately ran to her room, woke her up and made her go look out the window while I ran and got the phone so that I could record it."
Her daughter Natasha ended up recording the bouncing fox, while she kept the dogs quiet, because the fox stopped bouncing when the dogs barked.
There is no net to keep animals off the trampoline and the fox eventually jumped off.
This was the first time Beaton had seen a fox on the trampoline, much less bouncing on it.
Garry Gregory, a biologist with P.E.I. Fish and Wildlife, said he had never heard of foxes playing on trampolines before, but said a quick Google search showed it is not uncommon.
"It's pretty good evidence of the curious, inquisitive and playful behaviour of foxes," said Gregory.
"They are well accustomed to people's backyards, and they are curious about structures associated with people."