Fearless fox finds home at SRJC

Santa Rosa Junior College may be the home of the Bear Cubs, but a fox that’s taken up residence in a large oak tree has become something of an unofficial mascot for sharp-eyed faculty.

The wild creature climbs into a high branch outside the Bertolini Student Center during the day, where it is easily visible from a second-story counselor’s office, said Frank Pugh, a counselor and instructor who works in the building.

“I’ve seen owls and quails on campus, but I’ve never seen a fox,” he said. “You wouldn’t think in the middle of campus we’d have a fox in a big old oak tree.”

Tony Ichsan, dean of facilities planning and operations, said he’d been hearing reports of the fox from staff in recent days.

“We keep having sightings, folks saying they saw him at the library” or elsewhere, he said. “The fox seems to be pretty comfortable with folks. It’s kind of neat. They’re usually pretty shy.”

“We have had foxes during the summer when it’s a little quieter,” Ichsan said.

Ichsan said foxes have shown up on campus before, but usually at quieter times of the year when there are fewer students on campus.

Staff Writer Jamie Hansen blogs about education at extracredit.blogs.pressdemocrat.com. You can reach her at 521-5205 or jamie.hansen@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jamiehansen.