32 shoes belonging to campers at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming have gone missing in recent weeks. The culprit? A mischievous fox.
“A few weeks ago, we started getting reports of a fox stealing shoes from campers,” Grand Teton National Park wrote in the caption of a post on its official Instagram page. “After 19 shoes went missing, we made signs asking folks to store their footwear in tents, vehicles, or bear boxes.”
“Now? The fox’s stash is up to 32,” the post continued. As the caption’s accompanying video reveals, some campers continued to leave their shoes out even after the warning signs went up.
But it’s not entirely known just why this fox is taking the shoes. Grand Teton offered up a few suggestions, writing, “What does the fox do with the shoes? We still don’t know. Maybe it’s a toy. Maybe it’s a nesting material collection. Maybe it’s fashion.”
The park joked about the situation with a parody video featuring a taxidermy fox being bombarded with shoe offerings, from hiking boots to sandals to cowboy boots, with dialogue from King Julien of “Madagascar” in the background: “I don’t want another sacrifice, okay?”
A poster in the video says the fox is “wanted for grand theft footwear” and lists his aliases as “Sneaker Snatcher,” “The Midnight Mismatcher” and “Swiper the Fox.” His crimes? “Stealing left shoes (they taste better), flip-flops and campers’ pride; disturbing the peace (and pairs).” A sign can also be seen in the video reading “0 days since last shoe/fox incident.”
However, the post included serious messaging as well, as Grand Teton urged campers not to tempt the fox by leaving shoes outside, as spending time near humans can be ultimately be detrimental to foxes.
The park said, “Even unintentional behavior like leaving shoes out ‘just in case he visits’ teaches wildlife that people = opportunity. And that can lead to relocation… or worse.”