British photographer snaps rare black fox in Hertfordshire

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A British amateur photographer could hardly believe his luck when he spotted an extremely rare black fox.

It is believed to be only the second time a black fox has been spotted in Britain.

John Moore, 58, from Bassingbourn, near Royston, Herts, saw the creature, with its distinctive white-tipped tail, in fields behind his house.

"I've heard black foxes are mythical creatures because they supposedly don't exist," he told Rex Features.

"My neighbour thought it was a stray dog but I looked through my binoculars and realised it was definitely a fox, especially because of its white-tipped tail.

"I didn't realise how rare it was until I did some research. An RSPCA officer told my neighbour the organisation had never seen one before as they are that rare.

"In Gaelic tradition, black foxes are bringers of bad luck and rural communities used to tell of a fox as "black as night, so that it could live in a man's shadow and never be seen."

The black fox is in fact an ordinary red fox which has black fur or is going through a phase where the colour of its fur is particularly dark.

The phenomenon is normally seen in growing cubs and generally the fox will develop to have a dark chestnut coat.

But a few red foxes will remain black due to a rare genetic flaw dating back hundreds of years. Only a handful of them are thought to exist in Britain.

In North America, foxes with black coats are often found with a variable amount of white or white-banded hair in the dark coat.

Centuries-old superstitions are often found attached to black animals, such as black dogs and black cats.

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Mr Moore added: "I first saw the black fox last week so when it appeared again yesterday I was ready with my camera.

"I managed to get within 100 metres of it but then it ran off.

"I was really pleased with the photos. I wanted to get them because when we spotted it before no one believed us.

"They thought we must have been mistaken, but from these pictures there's no mistaking it."
Mr Moore even believes there is a second black fox living in the fields.

"I caught a glimpse of a second one but I'm not sure if it's a cub or a male and female fox," he added.

The red fox was introduced to America by the peans and black foxes exist in much greater numbers there because they were not hunted as widely.

In the UK their pelts were highly prized in the fur trade and it is believed the genetic strain became much scarcer.

Only one other black fox has been spotted in Britain before in Preston, Lancashire in 2008.

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