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Show Standard Examiner Thursday, May 21, 2015 3A Weber County farmer chases fox, saves nabbed duck By BECKY WRIGHT Standard-Examiner staff Something fowl has been happening at the Marriott- Slaterville farm of Stacy Palen and John Armstrong. "There's a 'fox in the henhouse.' Someone is taking out chickens and ducks. And that someone has a fluffy tail, is about the same size as a head gate, and moves like a cat. Could be a housecat of unusual size. Or a fox. Or something else we haven't thought of yet," Palen posted on Facebook on May 13. "Time to increase the varmint patrol..." Online friends speculated that the culprit could be a small coyote or a raccoon, but the couple discovered the truth May 14. "It's a fox. How do I know? Because I just... chased it down and stole my duck back, that's how," Palen posted that evening, adding that she felt like a superhero. "Hunters have got nothin' on farmers. I'm just sayin'. I am so full of adrenaline, it's a miracle I can sit in my chair." Palen and Armstrong, who are both professors with Weber State University's physics department, were eating dinner when they heard a commotion outside. "I ran around a big pile of dirt, and it was definitely a fox. It whipped around with the duck in its mouth, looked at me, and dropped the duck," says Stacy Pafen. "If you do set a live trap, and put things in there that would attract a fox, you're also likely to attract neighborhood cats," he said — or a raccoon, which is what was caught the first night they put the trap out. If they catch a fox in the trap, Douglass says the couple can call the DWR to take care of it. He also recommends that people who. raise chickens and ducks check out a resource from the DRW, Utah State University and Hogle Zoo, called "Wild Aware Utah." "We want people to be tolerant, and enjoy the wildlife around us," he said, instead of having conflicts with it. Lucky the Ducky was taken by a fox on May 14 from a farm in Marriott-Slaterville. She was quickly rescued by h Palen, and seemed to be recovering when this photo was taken, but died a few days later. |
