The White House may not be getting new occupants until 2016, but there is one unexpected addition to the set of familiar faces on the presidential grounds.
A pesky red fox has weaselled his way into claiming his own piece of the residence.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the fox had been a frequent visitor to the grounds late last summer but was left to roam free once many of the White House groundskeepers were furloughed during the government shutdown.
The groundskeepers brought metal traps and scattered them around the White House grounds but the rotting hunks of chicken used inside as bait did not appeal to the discerning fox.
Instead, he has taken to Mrs Obama’s famed fruit and vegetable garden.
‘We don’t mind that he passes through, but we don’t want him to stay,’ groundskeeper Dale Haney told The Wall Street Journal.
‘No overnight guests.’
Sneaking a raspberry doesn’t quite qualify as a breach in security, but setting off security alarms in the middle of the night does cause problems.
