A rare white fox — likely with an unusual ancestry — was captured by wildlife officials in Franklin Thursday morning.

Authorities got their first report of the mysterious animal a couple weeks ago, according to Dave Wattles, a state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife biologist.

Residents said the fox would wander through yards and sit on porches, unafraid of its human neighbors, he said.

“We talked to the animal control officer in Franklin and learned people were feeding the animal, so we decided to remove the animal,’’ Wattles said.

Authorities were also concerned the fox would breed with indigenous red foxes, and weren’t sure whether it would survive the winter.

Traps proved unsuccessful, but a man called the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife Thursday morning when he saw the fox on a commercial property in Franklin, Wattles said.

The animal control officer was able to slowly approach the animal and capture it with a rabies pole, a tool used to keep animals at a distance during capture.

There are no naturally occurring white foxes in the region. Arctic foxes in Northern Canada are white, but they don’t come anywhere close to Massachusetts, Wattles said.

That’s where the unusual ancestry comes in.

“In the past, the fur trade business would try to breed foxes together to get the most valuable furs,’’ Wattles said. “It was an intentional attempt to hybridize a white fox with a red fox.’’

Wildlife officials believe this animal likely has its ancestry in that fur trade, and was somehow being kept in the area as a pet, Wattles said.

He believes it escaped or was released.

They put the animal into a cage and transferred it to a facility that cares for exotic animals, Wattles said.

The fox didn’t react like a wild animal would when caged, approaching handlers for food and curling up for a nap.

“It’s very healthy, and it’s a beautiful animal,’’ Wattles said. “It just isn’t wild.’’

Dylan McGuinness can be reached at dylan.mcguinness @globe.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DylMcGuinness.