If you, like me, have seen a fox trotting around the Summerfest grounds / Milwaukee Art Museum area, this blog will be of particular interest.

On Friday, I saw a red fox sitting and licking his / her leg next to some bushes right outside the festival grounds when I was exiting 794 to cruise the lakefront. We joked he was bored with German Fest and simply not a big fan of um-pa-pa music.

Turns out, foxes have been a somewhat permanent fixture in the area for a while, and they are both scaring and charming people. The area is home to both red and grey foxes, but one particular fox with a bum rear leg, is the most interactive.

According to a notice that appears to be from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) taped inside a portable toilet, people with good intentions are feeding the red fox, and now, (s)he is extremely tame but following people around, hoping for handouts. It's freaking out some folks and, according to the flier, the Humane Society and police department receive regular calls about the fox.

The DNR is now considering moving the fox from the area. To prevent this from happening, or to prevent the removal of other wildlife from the area in the future, the DNR asks people not to feed the animals.

"With tame animals like this fox, it is the animal that gets hurt in the long run. The food they are fed is often unhealthy and their fearless behavior makes people uncomfortable .... Remarkably, there are visitors here at the park that have been warned about feeding, but continue to do so," reads the notice.