SOUTH PORTLAND – Foxes tend to be fairly reclusive creatures, but a South Portland resident was surprised recently to find one snoozing on a chair on the deck of his Broadway home.

And it is not the only report of foxes getting up close and personal with city residents.

Mayor Tom Blake says he’s received a number of phone calls about foxes, and he and his wife also have spotted several. In fact, they saw one last week in Ferry Village in their back yard. They shone a flashlight at him but he didn’t budge.

“They’re not very skittish when they see people,” Blake said.

In recent months, the city has experienced a larger than usual number of foxes, which can pose a problem because cats are part of their diet, said the city’s animal control officer, Corey Hamilton. The more people develop open land, he said, the more it forces such animals to take up residence in city neighborhoods.

Blake said the increase in foxes and other animal issues – such as a proposal for a dog park in South Portland that one dog owner plans to bring to the council soon – underscores the need for the creation of a new city committee to help educate the public about them and make recommendations to address them.

The City Council at a workshop Nov. 30 is expected to consider creating a Fish, Fowl and Animal Committee, Blake said.

“To me, it’s kind of proactive,” Blake said. “Let’s get something in place to deal with issues as they arise.”

In the past two years, the City Council has had to deal with animal issues in a reactive way, he said, pointing to the examples of chickens and bees.

When the City Council in 2007 voted to allow backyard chickens, several families were already unknowingly breaking the law by keeping them in their yards.

In 2008, the council spent months coming up with rules regarding beekeeping after neighbors complained about a man who was keeping bees.

Blake envisions a committee with seven members, each appointed by one of seven city councilors. He said the members would be volunteers with strong interest and/or expertise in animal matters. City staff, such as the animal control officer, also could be on the committee, Blake said.

He said the committee could consider such issues as a city dog park. Gary Crosby, the city resident who spearheaded the ballot question to ban dogs from Willard Beach from spring until fall – which voters rejected last week – is now proposing the city create its first dog park at Bug Light Park.

The Fish, Fowl and Animal Committee could study the issue and make a recommendation on whether the city needs a dog park and if so, where it should be located, Blake said.

Another example of an issue the committee could research is the problem with the ducks in Mill Creek Park, Blake suggested. Children and adults love to feed the birds, but there are so many birds, they are creating pollution problems in the pond there and on the grass. The committee could research the best solution to the issue.

“There’s all kinds of animal stuff in the city,” Blake said.

Wildlife issues, such as the one happening now with foxes, also could come under the committee’s review, he said.

Blake said that when concerned residents called him about what to do about the foxes, he called Hamilton for advice. He said the animal control officer basically told him it’s best if humans leave the foxes alone.

But instead of city officials fielding calls from individual residents, the committee could gather helpful information about foxes and post it on the city’s Web site to educate more people about the issue, Blake said.

“Foxes in the city, that’s pretty cool,” Blake said. However, he said, he wants people to be informed about them so they and their pets can be safe.

Hamilton, in an e-mail communication, said that the number of foxes in the city has increased recently. He doesn’t know exactly how many there are but said there are several fox families throughout the city.

Their numbers multiply quickly because females typically give birth to five baby foxes at a time, he said. Their only predators are coyotes, so unless they get hit by cars or die from disease, they have a good chance of survival, he said.

Hamilton estimates they are in most neighborhoods. “If there is an area of woods and good habitat for foxes, you will find them there,” he said.

The fox that was sleeping on a chair two weeks ago was on the deck of a house on Broadway near the Westbrook city line, right across from the new I-295 ramp, Hamilton said. By the time he arrived and took a picture, the fox had gone under the chair.

Foxes will go onto a deck in search of food or looking for a place to rest, he said.

Development pressures are pushing foxes closer to humans, Hamilton said.

“Every new house that is built in the city takes away some land that the foxes may have been living in and forces them to live within neighborhoods where you may not expect to find such wildlife,” he said.

He said the people’s biggest worry is that a fox will catch and eat their cats, which are a part of their diet.

“Foxes will kill cats, but don’t typically bother dogs or humans,” Hamilton said.

He said foxes hunt for food during all hours of the day but are usually most active at dawn and dusk.

His advice is that if there are foxes living nearby, keep cats indoors. Also, he said, “foxes will defend themselves or their babies if the situation arises, so it is best to stay away from them at all times.”

Hamilton said there is not much people can or should do when foxes move into the neighborhood.

“There are some commercially available repellents to help prevent foxes from going into back yards,” he said, “but in general, the foxes are going to live where they want to.”

The number of foxes in South Portland has increased over recent months. Two weeks ago, this fox was found sleeping on a chair on the deck of a house on Broadway near the Westbrook city line. He moved under the chair before the city’s animal control officer took this picture.