Must have been an omen: Mysterious black fox is KILLED by car just days after being spotted in countryside

-John Moore from Bassingbourn, near Royston, Herts, saw the creature, with its distinctive white-tipped tail, in fields behind his house on Monday
-But just a few days later, the fox - seen as an omen of bad luck - is dead after being hit by car
-Only one other black fox has been spotted in Britain before in Preston

By JO RILEY

Untimely end: The rare black fox lays dead after it was knocked down by a car on a busy road in Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire

The second black fox to ever be spotted in Britain has died today, just days after it was spotted by an amateur photographer.
The rare creature was killed after it was hit by a car on a busy road in Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire, near to where it was first seen by John Moore, 58, on Monday.
Members of the public stopped to see if they could help to save the injured animal after they recognised it from being in the papers, but it was already dead.
According to legend, the black fox is an omen of bad luck, but on this occasion it seems it was the animal whose luck ran out.

Killed: The black fox, with its distinctive white-tipped tail, runs through a field close to the village

'It’s really sad that it has happened, especially as it so rare,' said Mr Moore, from Bassingbourn.
'I’m so pleased I saw it when I did and got the pictures when I did.
'Now I have seen the fox close up there is no doubt it was a black fox and it was a female.
'I think I may have seen a second black fox but I’m not sure if it was a cub or the male. I’m hoping it wasn’t a cub as I’m not sure it would survive if the mother is dead.'

Bad omen? The accident happened on a busy road in Bassingbourn just four days after the fox was first spotted

Gary Sanderson, communications manager at the East of England Ambulance Service, said he was flagged down by motorists who had stopped to help the fox.
'After they flagged me down it was evident there was nothing anyone could do and the fox had sadly died.
'I must admit this was the first time I have seen a black fox and it’s a shame it has died.'
The accident happened between 9am and 10am this morning on the Old North Road between Royston and Bassingbourn in Hertfordshire.
According to legend, a black fox brings doom and disaster to anyone who sees it.
Mr Moore first saw the creature, with its distinctive white-tipped tail, in fields behind his house on Monday.

Unusual: The black fox is so rare - with the colouring caused by a defect gene - that there are only a handful of the breed left in the country

'I’ve heard black foxes are mythical creatures because they supposedly don’t exist,' he said at the time.
'My neighbour thought it was a stray dog but I looked through my binoculars and realised it was definitely a fox, especially because of its white-tipped tail.
'I didn’t realise how rare it was until I did some research. An RSPCA officer told my neighbour the organisation had never seen one before as they are that rare.
'In Gaelic tradition, black foxes are bringers of bad luck and rural communities used to tell of a fox as "black as night, so that it could live in a man" shadow and never be seen.'

Lucky: John Moore from Bassingbourne in Cambridgeshire

The black fox is in fact an ordinary red fox which has black fur or is going through a phase where the colour of its fur is particularly dark.
The phenomenon is normally seen in growing cubs and generally the fox will develop to have a dark chestnut coat.
But a few red foxes will remain black due to a rare genetic flaw dating back hundreds of years. Only a handful of them are thought to exist in Britain.
In North America, foxes with black coats are often found with a variable amount of white or white-banded hair in the dark coat.
Centuries-old superstitions are often found attached to black animals, such as black dogs and black cats.

Unwelcome sight: In medieval times, the black fox was considered a bad omen by superstitious villagers

The red fox was introduced to America by the peans and black foxes exist in much greater numbers there because they were not hunted as widely.
In the UK their pelts were highly prized in the fur trade and it is believed the genetic strain became much scarcer.
Only one other black fox has been spotted in Britain before in Preston, Lancashire in 2008.

Colouring: The black fox is in fact an ordinary red fox which has black fur or is going through a phase where the colour of its fur is particularly dark

Omen: Only one other black fox has been spotted in Britain before in Preston, Lancashire in 2008 in a graveyard - but it was found dead weeks later

source: dailymail