COLONIAL HEIGHTS, Va. -- Police are warning the public to avoid feeding and getting too close to foxes in Colonial Heights.
Four foxes have been spotted roaming the Southpark area in the daytime over the past couple of weeks. And the animals no longer appear fearful of people because officials said someone has been feeding them.
Police warning
Police fear someone is going to get hurt if one of the animals gets too close.
"We don't want our public to feed any wild animals" said Capt. Steve Groat with Colonial Heights Police. "These things can be dangerous at times and we don't want the wild animals to get used to humans feeding them."
Fox
Fox sightings: 'They are nocturnal creatures'
However, that may be too late since a fox was spotted in the parking lot of the Holiday Inn last week and then in the Chick-Fil-A parking lot on Thursday.
While seeing foxes in this area is not uncommon, it is unusual to see them in the daytime.
And folks who have seen the animal said they appeared to be in poor health and not afraid.
Kaitlynn Welch also saw one of the animals that she said "looked pretty thin."
"I think people definitely need to be aware because normally they are nocturnal creatures," Welch said. "I think their patterns are probably getting changed up if they are being fed."
Sick fox
Man saw 'really thin' fox on different days
Cliff Brooks believes he spotted the same fox twice in his parking lot on two different days.
"It seemed pretty not too worried about people being around," Brooks said. "Where most times they're kind of skittish and just ran off."
Brooks said the animal looked sick.
"His tail was real scrawny looking and he looked like really thin like he hadn't been eating," Brooks said.
Shahid Shabazz spotted a fox between Walmart and a shopping center Sunday and shot video of it in the grass.
"He looked a little ragged," Shabazz pointed out.
That video has been viewed 34,000 times as of Friday afternoon.
