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Urban Foxes/Rural Legend

Don’t agree with killing badgers & think I read this has now been stopped as a policy..
It was supposed to be phased out by next year, unfortunately that's not happening now.

"Natural England has approved new badger cull sites as part of government efforts to curb tuberculosis in cattle.

The seven zones are within Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire and two parts of Shropshire.

The government said supplementary badger culling would end in 2025 after previously announcing the end of new licences after 2022.

The RSPCA said it was dismayed at the extension of culling sites."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-58487796
 
There are about 400 hunters using golden eagles in Mongolia but don't know how many specifically go for foxes (at least one and he is training his daughter according to a news report some 5 years ago). One of the hunters in the pics is wearing a coat made from the pelts.

View attachment 44797
View attachment 44798
Romesh Ranganathen did some eagle hunting whilst in Mongolia.

 
The fox was just doing what comes naturally & there’s plenty of pigeons to go round - no-one will miss a few, and they can co-exist with people in towns, who mostly aren’t that hostile towards them.

Round my way there’s plenty of foxes - I had one or two sleep in my small town garden during the days a couple of years back. I left them alone as they weren’t doing any harm, & I haven’t heard of any trouble from them round here. If you leave a bin bag out they’ll rip it open but….don’t leave bin bags out - cats will probably do the same. I’ve not heard of them getting into dustbins. They may well keep the mouse & rat population down as well. They’re smart creatures working out a way to coexist with us in towns & largely succeeding I’d say.

I don’t think we’ve persecuted red squirrels have we?..and for the most part we don’t now persecute greys either.

Rats are demonised because of the Black Death. Don’t agree with killing badgers & think I read this has now been stopped as a policy..

Agree with you about the waste we produce.
I think the arrival of grey squirrels has made us forget that red squirrels used to be very unpopular with foresters due to similar behaviour - ring-barking trees and nicking hazelnuts. They are v popular now as they are disappearing. I think that’s the trick for wildlife in the UK, if you about to go extinct you get a bit popular, otherwise you are shot, poisoned or run over with no compunction
 
Fox fouled in football net.

A fox that became trapped in a football net has been cut free by an RSPCA inspector.

The animal was found in the net at Stoke Lodge Playing Fields in north Bristol on Saturday.

Det Ch Insp Simon Coomb said: "This was the most tangled fox I've ever seen. The fox had well and truly got itself stuck. It was hard to tell which way up he was ... as he was so severely tangled. Thankfully, he wasn't injured."

Once freed the fox immediately ran off, he said.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-59290019
 
Fox fouled in football net.

A fox that became trapped in a football net has been cut free by an RSPCA inspector.

The animal was found in the net at Stoke Lodge Playing Fields in north Bristol on Saturday.

Det Ch Insp Simon Coomb said: "This was the most tangled fox I've ever seen. The fox had well and truly got itself stuck. It was hard to tell which way up he was ... as he was so severely tangled. Thankfully, he wasn't injured."

Once freed the fox immediately ran off, he said.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-59290019
We got a fox caught in some pig netting once. Completely tangled. My partner grabbed the fox by the scruff of the neck and told me to disentangle it, which I did. Unfortunately, as we discovered, holding a fox by the scruff of the neck doesn't immobilise it like it would a cat, and he got severely bitten during the operation.

Fox ran off unharmed after we'd got the netting off him, but my partner had to go for anti-tetanus jabs and some stitches.
 
(Not mine.)
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Cementing a relationship with trapped fox cubs. a chip off the old block.

Firefighters have chiselled through a concrete block to rescue a fox cub after it became trapped between a garage and stone wall.

The crew were called to Kingsway in Kirkby in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, on Friday by animal rescue volunteers. The six-week-old cub was one of two young foxes rescued, thought to have been abandoned by their mother. Firefighters were able to release it after making a hole in the garage and both cubs were taken to a sanctuary. Hope Animal Rescue Centre (HARC), based in Long Eaton, said it first received a call about the fox cubs on Friday.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-60807287
 
Terrorist fox attacks Congressman.

A female red fox suspected of biting people near the U.S. Capitol building was captured by animal control officers Tuesday — and she may be killed for rabies testing under Washington, D.C., law.

Capitol Police announced the fox’s capture on Twitter alongside several photos of the animal. The announcement came hours after the department tweeted it had “received several reports of aggressive fox encounters on or near the grounds of the U.S. Capitol.”

One of the people bitten was Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.), who told Heather Caygle of Punchbowl News that the attack was “unprovoked” and the fox lunged at the back of his leg.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/what-will-happen-to-capitol-fox_n_624ca275e4b0e44de9c7f98f
 

World's oldest penguin killed by fox at Edinburgh Zoo


The oldest penguin at Edinburgh Zoo has died after she was attacked by a fox which broke into her enclosure.

TELEMMGLPICT000305643152_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqmZxOu8v4Byvxg8afr28tjPEeTFgPXoiyxxl0vFVRUd4.jpeg


Mrs Wolowitz, 35, was mauled to death by a fox CREDIT: Edinburgh zoo

Mrs Wolowitz, a Northern Rockhopper, died aged 35 following the incident on Wednesday night.

The zoo said the other penguins in the colony were not hurt and are doing well.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/08/12/worlds-oldest-penguin-killed-fox-edinburgh-zoo/

maximus otter
 

World's oldest penguin killed by fox at Edinburgh Zoo


The oldest penguin at Edinburgh Zoo has died after she was attacked by a fox which broke into her enclosure.

TELEMMGLPICT000305643152_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqmZxOu8v4Byvxg8afr28tjPEeTFgPXoiyxxl0vFVRUd4.jpeg


Mrs Wolowitz, 35, was mauled to death by a fox CREDIT: Edinburgh zoo

Mrs Wolowitz, a Northern Rockhopper, died aged 35 following the incident on Wednesday night.

The zoo said the other penguins in the colony were not hurt and are doing well.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/08/12/worlds-oldest-penguin-killed-fox-edinburgh-zoo/

maximus otter
That is so sad.
 

World's oldest penguin killed by fox at Edinburgh Zoo


The oldest penguin at Edinburgh Zoo has died after she was attacked by a fox which broke into her enclosure.

TELEMMGLPICT000305643152_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqmZxOu8v4Byvxg8afr28tjPEeTFgPXoiyxxl0vFVRUd4.jpeg


Mrs Wolowitz, 35, was mauled to death by a fox CREDIT: Edinburgh zoo

Mrs Wolowitz, a Northern Rockhopper, died aged 35 following the incident on Wednesday night.

The zoo said the other penguins in the colony were not hurt and are doing well.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/08/12/worlds-oldest-penguin-killed-fox-edinburgh-zoo/

maximus otter
Poor old Mrs Wolowitz. Maybe that's why the Edinburgh Zoo penguin-cam is not available

https://www.edinburghzoo.org.uk/webcams/penguin-cam/#penguincam
 
City slickers not smarter than bog trotters,

Urban foxes may be bolder than their country cousins but city life has not made them cleverer, according to researchers who set puzzles for dozens of the animals.

A team from the University of Hull spent two years studying wild foxes in 104 locations in England and Scotland by leaving them tasks to do for rewards.


Psychologist and animal behaviourist Blake Morton, who led the research, said they found that urban foxes were more prepared to physically touch the puzzles but they did not show any greater inclination than the rural dwellers to try to get inside.

We found that urban foxes were more likely to behave bolder than rural populations in terms of their willingness to physically touch the puzzles, but they were not more motivated to try to gain access to the rewards inside
Animal behaviourist Dr Blake Morton

Dr Morton said: “For years, researchers have claimed that urbanisation is making wildlife bolder and smarter due to the challenges they face from ‘life in the city’.

“In our study, we tested this hypothesis in wild red foxes by giving them unfamiliar puzzle feeders to see how they would react.

“We found that urban foxes were more likely to behave bolder than rural populations in terms of their willingness to physically touch the puzzles, but they were not more motivated to try to gain access to the rewards inside.”

The foxes had to use simple behaviours to gain access to the food, including biting, pulling, or lifting materials with their paws and mouth.

The study, published in Animal Behaviour, found that foxes from 96 locations acknowledged the puzzles, but foxes from only 31 locations touched them and foxes from just 12 locations gained access to the food.

https://www.ireland-live.ie/news/uk...everer-than-rural-cousins-study-suggests.html
 
Used to see foxes regularly when we lived in Bath, now we live in the sticks very rarely see them. Know they are around because of hearing them at night and occasionally smelling them early on early morning walks. One of the best sightings was a few years ago on a late evening walk with a full moon- young fox came bounding up to my dog and they did a complicated little play bow and sniff session.
 
I see a fox most nights when I open my curtains before getting into bed-I can't bear sleeping with the curtains closed. He comes from the direction of the railway line about 100 yards away.I often see him on my way to work by train,so guess he lives along that bit of track.
 
I see a fox most nights when I open my curtains before getting into bed-I can't bear sleeping with the curtains closed. He comes from the direction of the railway line about 100 yards away.I often see him on my way to work by train,so guess he lives along that bit of track.
An abundance of wildlife lives along the edge of railway track, especially foxes, more so in the countryside than the town. I guess it's because in the main there are very rarely any people. Wild life for some reason seem to get used to passing trains. Around here the railways use the third rail and how animals like foxes don't get electrocuted is a mystery. In my time as a train driver I only ever occasionally saw dead badgers wedged under the third rail but never a dead fox.

Edited much later. Added sentence.
 
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An abundance of wildlife lives along the edge of railway track, especially foxes, more so in the countryside than the town. I guess it's because in the main there are very rarely any people. Wild life for some reason seem to get used to passing trains. Around here the railways use the third rail and how animals like foxes don't get electrocuted is a mystery. In my time as a train driver I only ever occasionally saw dead badgers wedged under the third rail but never a dead fox.

Edited much later. Added sentence.
Being north of the thames we don’t see the third rail.
If you want to electrocute yourselves you will need to keep one foot firmly on the ground whilst connecting the other foot to the overhead line.
 
Being north of the thames we don’t see the third rail.
If you want to electrocute yourselves you will need to keep one foot firmly on the ground whilst connecting the other foot to the overhead line.
Or get within a few feet of it. Then it'll find you. Maybe that could could become the next tic tok challenge? How near can you get without being electrocuted......
 
I wonder if dogs vandalise cat cafes?

Image of the fox peering around a doorway in the café

The cafe owner says when she found the fox it looked "frightened" and had cut itself

A fox has forced a west London dog cafe to close after it was caught red-handed during a vandalism spree.

Alicia Ung, who owns Pawsitive Café in Notting Hill, said when she arrived to work on Sunday she initially thought the premises had been broken into. When she found the fox inside it was peering around a corner at her and looked "frightened".

Ms Ung said the fox caused "thousands of pounds of damage" and had ripped sofas and broken glass everywhere.

Images and video clips posted to social media show the fox had torn chunks of foam from an entire row of orange banquette seating and at least half a dozen chairs, as well as breaking crockery and glass and leaving tiny blood-stained pawprints over walls, floors and surfaces.

Image showing dozens of chunks taken out of a row of orange banquette seating

"Pawsitive Cafe is my baby, and it saddened me deeply to see how it came down to this," Ms Ung said

The fox had even managed to break into food containers, leaving piles of kibbles strewn on the ground.

Ms Ung said the fox was humanely captured by the RSPCA, and a member of staff from the charity said the fox appeared to be fine, having only suffered a minor cut.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-67157686
 
I wonder if the staff are furries? Vid at link.

Staff at US wildlife centre wear fox mask to care for rescued kit​

Melissa Stanley is the Founder and Director of Richmond Wildlife Center in the US state of Virginia. When a rescued fox kit arrived, Stanley donned a fox mask to care for the newborn. Speaking to the BBC, she explained why they took this step.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68559211
 
My daughter, who lives in Forest Hill in London, sees a fox most mornings as she walks down to the station for her train. I, who live in the middle of rural nowhere in North Yorkshire, can't remember the last time I saw a fox.
Ages ago, I had (wealthy) friends who lived near me in a Georgian rectory, with a big garden, surrounded by a council estate and semi-detached housing. We often used to sit in the mornings, watching a fox and her cubs play on their lawn.
On another occasion, I was walking along a path in a local park, next to a large allotment site. Suddenly, a fox shot out from one side and into the bushes, passing between my stretched pace!
This is in Plumstead Common.
 
When my mother was alive and living in Bermondsey she started to feed urban foxes and as a result they took up residence and thrived in an abandoned garage next door.
She finally got upset when her beloved garden was increasingly covered in fox shite and she became increasingly concerned over the safety of her cat.
She phoned me one day and asked if I could recommend something to get rid of the foxes. I suggested a 12 bore with some heavy cartridges. She meant something similar to “Cat Off” where the smell would put them off!
 
I think we have foxes visiting occasionally at night.
There's a pungent odour sometimes that isn't from cats and sometimes possums are partially eaten.
 
There are a lot of foxes around Kevingrove art gallery and the river Kelvin here in the West End of Glasgow. They are very bold and come out in the evening and are adept at avoiding the local dogs. This isn't particulalry down to any enlightened wildlife policy - it's more the council don't empty the bins at the park and carpark very often , so the foxes and seagulls get stuck in.
 
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