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Norwegian fox snatches smartphone, sends text message

Image used with permission by copyright holder

In Norway, one unsuspecting neighbor snagged a teenager’s phone before dashing off into the woods to send a text message. The catch: this thief wasn’t human.

A fox reportedly stole Lars Andreas Bjercke’s cell phone from his back yard, Discovery News reports. The 16-year-old Norwegian teenager had downloaded an app that allowed his smartphone to emit rabbit noises, which turned out to be surprisingly effective. After playing the sound effects in his back yard, a local fox began to circle the yard over the course of several nights.

Bjercke and his friend Sigurd Grønvik Bachke decided to put this app to the test and see what they could capture on video. Bachke filmed as Bjercke placed his smartphone on the ground just before a fox came over to investigate the noise. After the canine crook snatched the device, Bachke tried calling the cell phone to track its location. The most interesting part: the fox allegedly answered. Bachke told Verdens Gang, a local Norwegian newspaper, that he heard a crunching sound on the other end, as if the fox had been fiddling with the phone.

But the fox appeared to find more uses for the smartphone than just answering basic calls. The tech-savvy creature also reportedly sent a text message to one of Bjercke’s pals. A friend contacted him through Facebook to tell him that she’d received a weird text message from his phone.

The phone’s whereabouts are still unknown, but Bjercke has since turned off the lost device. He told Verdens Gang reporters that he hopes to recover the stolen phone at some point, but until then it will remain in the paws of his four-legged friend.

See the video below to see the fox investigating what was initially thought to be its prey. 

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Lisa Eadicicco
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Lisa Eadicicco is a technology and video game reporter based in New York City. She graduated from Purchase College in 2012…
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