Wonthaggi pests: Fox caught roaming inside Bass Coast home at night

A family has been rudely woken in the middle of the night to their dog madly chasing a furry intruder inside their home. SEE THE VIDEO.

A Wonthaggi mother has been left concerned after a furry intruder snuck into her daughter’s bedroom in the middle of the night before being chased away by the family dog.

Caz Yann told The Bass Coast News her and her husband were woken up by their dog barking at 3.15am on Saturday, April 10.

“She was yelping in a way that we have never heard before,” Ms Yann said.

“So we got up to see what was happening but we didn’t see anything.”

Ms Yann checked her CCTV footage the next day to find a fox creeping around her home, entering her 10-year-old daughter’s bedroom.

“Paige was freaked out because she saw the video but didn’t hear the incident unfold,” Ms Yann said.

“Lucky our dog chased the fox out of her room before anything serious happened.”

Ms Yann said the incident was concerning as the fox looked “comfortable” roaming around.

“It got in through the cat door so now we are locking that at night,” she said.

“We hope our pets can hold their business until the morning.”

The mother-of-three said she often sees the furry pest wondering the suburban streets of Wonthaggi at all times of the day.

“Most mornings the fox walks past the front of my house and goes into the home across the road,” Ms Yann said.

“And my friend who lives a couple of doors often has the fox come up to her when she sits outside for a smoke.”

After posting the CCTV footage to Facebook, Ms Yann received comments from other locals who have spotted the cunning mammal.

“Little prick got a kill at my place in Merrin Crescent in the early hours of Saturday morning but left its prey behind,” Katrina Studd said.

“Looked like a murder scene.”

Ben Leversha said a fox usually ventured into Stewart Street gardens as well.

“The dogs go crazy,” Mr Leversha said.

“It’s killing a lot of pets.”

Luke Phillips from Bass Coast Landcare Network said it was common to see foxes in the area but the group only received a handful of complaints each year.

“Foxes are active over spring and into summer when cubs emerge from dens,” Mr Phillips said.

“We generally receive a higher quantity of fox related calls during this period, and this is also one of the key timings for fox control.”

Mr Phillips said foxes were usually found on remnant bushland, open grazing

land and townships areas and pose a threat to native wildlife and breeding livestock.

He said pest animal officers offered services including soft jaw trapping, 1080

baiting and spotlight shooting.

Over the years, foxes have been spotted across Victoria stealing possessions and terrorising pets.

In 2019, a sneaky fox was caught on CCTV stealing a priceless pair of thongs from the front deck of a Watsonia home.

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