Big Issue: Ever-growing human population is making foxes bolder
WHEN a wild creature loses its natural fear of mankind, it becomes more unpredictable – especially species that frequent urban areas such as the red fox.
Thirty years ago, a fox spotted in a built-up part of a town or city was a rarity.
-
These images capture the increasingly brazen nature of urban foxes as they prowl Bristol city centre hunting for food - during daylight. The once-timid mammals used to shy away from any form of human contact and would only be seen stalking at night. But more recently, the mammals appear to have developed a fearless streak as third and fourth generation foxes become accustomed to city life. Amateur photographer Ian Wade captured the foxes going about their every day routine and was stunned at just how confident they had become around humans. See SWNS story SWFOX.
The advent of fast food outlets and other factors, such as the incredible amount of food waste discarded by modern families, have contributed to this fox colonisation of urban areas.
Of course, habituation (animals becoming accustomed to man) goes hand in hand with these changes.
Business Cards From Only £10.95 Delivered www.myprint-247.co.uk
View detailsOur heavyweight cards have FREE UV silk coating, FREE next day delivery & VAT included. Choose from 1000's of pre-designed templates or upload your own artwork. Orders dispatched within 24hrs.
Terms: Visit our site for more products: Business Cards, Compliment Slips, Letterheads, Leaflets, Postcards, Posters & much more. All items are free next day delivery. www.myprint-247.co.uk
Contact: 01858 468192
Valid until: Friday, May 31 2013
Many of us encourage foxes, badgers and even deer into our gardens by feeding them for the pleasure of watching or filming their activities.
Although this exercise can give much pleasure to many, particularly the elderly and housebound, it can only increase any problematic behaviour that occurs, such as a cache (burying of excess food) in flowerbeds by foxes, digging up lawns looking for worms by badgers and eating our shrubs and rose bushes by deer, generally roe.
I have watched a vixen teach her cubs how to scavenge discarded remains from takeaway cartons in the car park of an American fried chicken outlet.
A fascinating observation of an opportunistic carnivore doing what it does best, learning to stay alive.
It has to be exceptional behaviour for a fox to attack a person – usually only fear will prompt this action on the fox's part.
But, as in the recent attack on a baby in Bromley, it could be that because of the massive fox population in the metropolis, competition for food is making the animals bolder and more aggressive than usual.
I have had a few reports of extra large foxes being sighted locally.
One observer claims he saw one the size of his large labrador scatter a pair of normal sized foxes away from a roe deer carcass, which it then proceeded to pick up by the ribcage and carry off.
Needless to say, I now have an auto trail camera set up in his garden where the incident occurred, in the hope it may return.
In favour of the urban fox though, it must be mentioned that they help immensely in keeping down the over invasive rodent we have in this country – wherever we are, we are only three metres away from a rat.
Of course, they are hidden most of the time and mainly nocturnal.
So, wild animals for wild places is the best policy for man and beast in the ever-increasing human population with their determined effort to concrete whatever wild and green places we have left on the planet.
3 Comments
by GlosAnarchy
Thursday, February 14 2013, 8:48PM
“Everyone in Gloucester should now have the facility to recycle their food waste separately from the recyclable and landfill wastes so there should be little to no domestic food waste available to vermin such as foxes and rats.
I would also like to say you can easily be more than 3 meters away from a rat, this misinterpretation of statistics is yet another misunderstanding,
United kingdom 243,610 SqKm 243,610,000,000 Sqm
Not taking account of the overlaps required area of a 3m radius circle = 28mSq
This returns 8,700,357,142 rats in the UK......”
by ShorterNews
Thursday, February 14 2013, 5:35PM
“We should only cull urban foxes if we cull urban dogs first. After all, the statistics will indicate that more people are injured by dogs than foxes.”
by bonzaharris1
Wednesday, February 13 2013, 8:21PM
“Another good reason NOT to build on greenbelt, you diminish the natural habit of those creatures that live on it, they are also entitled to live their life. Its called the balance of nature, something the human race has completely screwed. No point complaining about foxes, or seagulls encroaching on our space, when we keep building on theirs. Also, if us filthy humans didn't drop left over takeaways etc on the pavement, rather than in one of the many bins provided by the council, and bagged up our refuse more securely, then they would be less encouraged to enter our space to hunt for food. We make it easy for them by providing one big dinner table for them, due to our own laziness to clear up after ourselves, then moan about the damage they do.”