BROOMFIELD, Colo. — Sometime within the past couple of weeks, a family of foxes moved under the front porch of Charlene Morton. The parents dug the foxhole for their 10 kits, who are growing up fast.

“My neighbor called me and said, did you know you have a fox family moving in?” said Morton. “When I looked out there the kits were, rolling in the grass, eating food their parents were delivering to the den, and just jumping and playing like all ‘youngins’ do.”

Neighbors love the new neighbors … most saying they lost most of their foxes—who do control the rabbit and mice populations—to an outbreak of mange a couple of years ago. Their gardens and shrubs were destroyed by rabbits whenever they planted them.

Now, the kits are no longer weaning, they are eating solid foods and learning how to hunt for themselves. Soon, they will get pushed out of the den and be on their own. Most will stay close to home, giving the Gate-N-Green a new pack of foxes to patrol the community, and giving residents a bit of nature right in their own backyards.