At the beginning of April, we told you about a family of kit foxes that made their home at a sidewalk construction site. Those foxes delayed the repavement project for months.
But, last week contractors finally finished their work, so what happened to the foxes?
Employees at Too Fat Sandwiches, which is across from the construction site, say the foxes are still around. While the den that used to be under the sidewalk is filled with dirt and covered with concrete, the foxes have found other places to call home.
"Early in the morning around three or five, is when the person who bakes our bread sees them the most," said Gloria McMackin, worker at Too Fat Sandwiches.
"It was just a couple weeks ago that they left, certified by our biologist," said Arnold Ramming, a civil engineer at the Bakersfield Public Works Department.
The city says the biologist went the extra mile to make sure all of the kit foxes, which are an endangered species, were gone.
"Before we started excavating, we felt pretty sure that the dens were vacant. They then used a camera that, yeah it's an empty hole," said Ramming.
So, contractors finished up this week, filling in the den and paving the sidewalk. Employees at Too Fat Sandwiches think the foxes moved to another den.
"We saw them yesterday, yesterday morning they saw them," said McMackin. "I'm just happy they are still here in their habitat."
Although it took five extra months to finish the project, city engineers said it was the right thing to do.
"Sometimes you feel a little frustrated, but you have to remember we live in a community. A community is made up of a lot of different people, a lot of different needs, and animals," said Ramming.
Biologists estimate there are only 7,000 kit foxes in the world. About 14 percent of them live in Bakersfield.
"Out there they have coyotes that beat up on them, feral dogs, and they have to work to make a living. They have to chase down kangaroo rats. Here, they just raid a garbage can," said Ted Murphy, retired biologist from Cal State Bakersfield.
Workers at Too Fat Sandwiches said there are about five or six kit foxes seen regularly.
While they are cute, officials warn you not to pet them because they are wild animals.
