What To Do If A Fox, Beaver Or Other Wild Animal Shows Up Near Your Maryland Home

CALIFORNIA, Md. — Marylanders do not have to travel deep into the woods to encounter wildlife. A fox can cross a suburban yard, a beaver can appear near a neighborhood pond and other wild animals may turn up along trails, roads or waterfront property.

For residents of Maryland, development and natural habitat often sit close together. That makes occasional encounters part of life, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, which manages the state’s wildlife problems and nuisance wildlife programs.

Most encounters can be handled by giving the animal room, protecting pets and removing whatever is attracting wildlife to the property. The situation changes when an animal appears injured, trapped, unusually aggressive or poses an immediate danger.

Start With Distance

The safest response to most Maryland wildlife encounters is simple: Do not approach the animal. Give it a clear way to leave and watch from a safe location if necessary.

Avoid trying to touch, corner, chase or capture wildlife. An animal that appears calm can react when it feels threatened or when a person gets between it and an escape route. Children should be brought indoors or kept well away, and dogs should be leashed and cats kept inside.

State wildlife officials warn against feeding wild animals, noting that it can cause them to lose their natural wariness of people and become a nuisance — or even aggressive — as they begin to expect handouts, according to the Maryland DNR. Maryland law generally bars residents from trapping, shooting or relocating wildlife on their own; even when an animal is actively damaging property, a free landowner permit is required, available through the state’s nuisance wildlife information line at 877-463-6497 in Maryland (410-349-8055 outside the state), according to DNR.

Drivers should resist stopping in an unsafe location to examine wildlife along a road. If an animal creates an immediate traffic hazard, contact local authorities rather than stepping into traffic or attempting a rescue.

What To Do Around Beavers

Beaver encounters are most likely to become a concern when people live or recreate near ponds, creeks, rivers and other waterways. If you see a beaver from a trail, yard or shoreline, stay back and let it move away — do not feed it or approach for a photo, and keep dogs under close control near water, where a pet may pursue an animal before its owner can intervene.

The risk of getting too close was on display this month at Cunningham Falls State Park in Frederick County, where two swimmers were bitten by rabid beavers within a two-week span — a 13-year-old on July 26 and a 19-year-old fisherman on Aug. 5 — prompting the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to close the Houck Day Use Area, an adjacent boat ramp and part of Big Hunting Creek while it investigates a possible rabies outbreak. The agency said such attacks remain uncommon and typically involve rabid animals, and it advised visitors to keep a minimum viewing distance of 25 yards from beavers.

A beaver repeatedly appearing near a home is not necessarily an emergency, though property damage or drainage problems can become more complicated than a single sighting. Beavers are managed by the state as furbearers, and under Maryland DNR rules, a free landowner permit is required before an animal actively damaging property can be trapped outside the regulated season. Calvert County residents dealing with nuisance beavers or other wildlife can use the county’s online Report Nuisance Wildlife tool. Rules can apply to wildlife control, and do-it-yourself removal can create safety problems.

How To Respond To A Fox

A fox passing through a yard calls for the same approach: distance, secured pets and no food. Red foxes are common across Maryland and will sometimes den in crawl spaces under decks and sheds, according to the Maryland DNR’s profile of the species.

Foxes are classified as a rabies-vector species under Maryland law, meaning residents may not legally relocate one themselves; the DNR restricts relocation of raccoons, skunks and foxes specifically to limit the spread of the disease. Do not attempt to determine an animal’s health by getting closer. Contact local animal control or an appropriate wildlife authority when a fox or other wild animal appears seriously injured, trapped or threatening — for example, St. Mary’s County Animal Control at 301-475-8018 or Charles County Animal Care & Control at 301-609-3425.

Make Your Maryland Property Less Attractive To Wildlife

Prevention matters most in communities where wooded land, farmland and waterways border homes. Residents can reduce conflicts without trying to eliminate wildlife from the area, according to the Maryland DNR’s Living with Wildlife guide, which recommends securing garbage cans with latches, keeping pet food and bird feeders from becoming easy meals, and sealing gaps under sheds, porches and foundations with quarter-inch hardware cloth.

Before sealing an opening beneath a shed, deck or other structure, make sure an animal is not trapped inside, and consider professional help when there is uncertainty.

Seeing wildlife during ordinary daily activity does not, by itself, mean an animal is dangerous. Behavior, surroundings and the animal’s ability to leave are more useful gauges than the sighting itself.

Hiking, Biking And Walking With Pets

Maryland’s parks, waterfronts and neighborhood trails offer many chances to see wildlife. Staying on established routes can reduce surprise encounters, and a leashed dog gives an owner more control if an animal appears nearby. Follow posted signs and closures, since parks sometimes restrict access for safety reasons.

Never surround an animal to take photos, and don’t block its route into vegetation or away from people. Parents should teach children to observe wildlife from a distance rather than approaching or feeding it.

If you encounter an animal while walking, stop at a safe distance and give it time to move away. Changing your route can be the better choice when passing would require getting close.

Know When To Call For Help

Not every wildlife sighting requires a phone call. Assistance becomes more important when an animal is inside a living space, cannot escape safely, is injured or is creating an immediate risk to people or domestic animals.

The right contact varies by jurisdiction. St. Mary’s County residents can reach Animal Control at 301-475-8018 during business hours or 301-475-8016 after hours. Calvert County residents can contact the county’s Animal Control office or use its online Report Nuisance Wildlife tool. Charles County’s Animal Care & Control can be reached at 301-609-3425, with the Sheriff’s Office non-emergency line, 301-743-2222, available after hours. Anne Arundel County’s Animal Services responds to wildlife trapped inside a home or business and to bites involving people or pets, but refers other nuisance wildlife calls to the state’s Wildlife and Heritage Service at 877-463-6497. Baltimore residents can start with the city’s 311 system for non-emergency reports, while Washington-suburb residents can reach Montgomery County’s wildlife resources or Prince George’s County Animal Services. For an immediate threat to human safety, use emergency services.

If a person or pet has physical contact with a wild animal, avoid handling the animal afterward. Maryland health officials advise washing the wound thoroughly with soap and water, seeking medical attention promptly and reporting the exposure right away to local animal control, a health department or police, since treatment to prevent rabies is most effective when started soon after exposure, according to the Maryland Department of Health.

Living near wildlife requires preparation rather than panic. Local authorities can help when a situation goes beyond a routine sighting.

Related Articles From The BayNet

• A Reminder To Marylanders: Keep Wildlife In The Wild
• DNR Says Be On The Lookout For Foxes
• Maryland Black Bears: What To Do If You See One
• Maryland’s Most Overlooked Rabies Threat Isn’t What You Think

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