First British sighting of rare black fox captured on film

According to legend, it brings doom and disaster to anyone who sees it.

But an amateur photographer could hardly believe his luck when he spotted an extremely rare black fox. Kevin Hehir, 48, from Preston, saw it in a Lancashire cemetery.

He said: 'I thought it was the Devil looking at me. Then I thought, "It's a myth, there's no such thing". But I managed to get right up to it and it's definitely a young black fox.


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

However a few red foxes will remain black due to a rare genetic flaw dating back hundreds of years. 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.

David Dunlop, Lancashire Wildlife Trust conservation officer, said: 'It's a Gaelic tradition, originating from the black dog which was said to bring doom and disaster to those who see it.'
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.

Mr Dunlop said: 'Only one black fox has been seen and, as far as I know, it's the only one to be seen in this country before.

'In North America, I think it's about one in five red foxes are black but that's because they were introduced from Europe.'