Freddy the fox still has a drain pipe around his neck, but his kids are chipping away at it

Good parenting has apparently paid off for a red fox that got an eight-inch plastic drain pipe stuck around his neck more than a year ago.

Nicknamed Freddy by Bartlett residents keeping an eye out for him, the fox's accessory is barely noticeable these days.

That's likely thanks to some playtime with his offspring over the past few months.

"It's down to a tiny, little sliver of green," said Vicki Weiland, director of Kane Area Rehabilitation and Education for Wildlife. "We think it's mostly gone from his pups jumping on him and chewing at it."

Never much of a hindrance for Freddy, the flexible drain pipe around his neck simply made him more noticeable, wildlife experts explained earlier this year.

Attempts to trap Freddy in an effort to help him remove the drain pipe were fruitless, and now that the pipe has all but disintegrated, there are no plans to try again to capture him.

"It's barely even the size of a collar," said Larry Paxson, a Bartlett resident who created the "Find Freddy the Fox" Facebook page. "It's more like a necklace. It's so unobtrusive at this point we don't think there's a need to try and help get it off anymore."

Freddy and his vixen mate, who fans have named Fiona, are not shy. The pair were recently photographed frolicking together in a backyard near their den and snoozing in the sun during an unseasonably warm day less than a week ago.

Regular wear and tear as well as an expected new brood for the couple might be all that it takes to snap off the remainder of the pipe, Weiland predicted.

"But I don't suspect people will stop looking for him and taking his picture," she said. "That's what's been so fun to watch is how it brought all these people together who don't really know each other and probably would have never met otherwise."

Paxson's Facebook group has nearly 2,000 followers, and there are updates on the vulpine couple at least once a week usually.

"At this point we're monitoring him just because it's fun to do," Paxson said.

Freddy's fur appears in good shape and there's no evidence the pipe caused any type of lesions to the animal's skin as it has slowly broken away.

Wildlife experts say it's rare, but not uncommon, for wild animals to get entangled in man-made objects. They urge property owners to keep yards free of clutter that could accidentally ensnare critters.

"Freddy was pretty lucky," Weiland said. "And he's lucky to have so many people watching out for him, because I don't think he was ever going to go into a trap for nothing. He's really beyond smart."