In One Ear: Outfoxed

Recently, Portland has had an unusual visitor, but those in the know "aren't sure" what it is, Oregon Public Broadcasting reports. Nevertheless, it looks like an Arctic white fox.

Jennifer Osburn, of the Oregon Zoo, was not ready to affirm that, however. "I can tell you that we have grey foxes in Oregon, red foxes (most, but not all, are invasive), and there are people that have pet foxes (which may or may not be legal)," she said in an email to OPB. "I have never heard of an arctic fox this far south."

"This does look like some kind of fox," Beth Quillian, of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, said. "White morphs (color variations) are more common in red fox than gray fox, and the ears and snout are atypical for red fox.

"This animal looks closer to an arctic fox than any fox native to our area," she added. "It is potentially some kind of hybrid animal that escaped from captivity, however we can't 100% rule out that it is a wild leucistic (mostly white, but not albino) gray fox, either."

In other words, they don't know what it is. But it sure looks like an Arctic white fox. (Photo: Julie Sabatier/OPB; inset: Jean Beaufort)