Mysterious Tyco Animal

A strange-looking animal spotted outside a North Carolina electronics plant has been identified as a rare variant of the common red fox. The creature with big ears, a long tail and a thin coat was christened the Tyco Animal by employees at Tyco Electronics. Suggestions that came in a after a photo of the beast was posted on the Web ranged from the possible -- a Mexican hairless dog -- to the unlikely -- a cross between a fox and a possum -- to the legendary -- a Wampus Cat, a creature known only in Appalachian folk tales.Brad Gunn, a biologist with the state, put those stories to rest by suggesting that Tyco Animal is probably a Sampson fox, a genetic variant of the red fox that lacks a thick outer coat of fur. The Tyco Animal bears a strong resemblance to a Sampson fox photographed in its neck of the woods in 2004, said that a Tyco spokesman was unwilling to let a reporter talk to company employees. "It's become a distraction," Mike Ratcliff said.