Foxes

 

Foxes

Red fox (Vulpes vulpes)
Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Those elegant, red-coated denizens of the dark, now often observed in daylight hours, are loved by many and abhorred by many more. I am of the admiring cohort, but I’m not a countrywoman or a farmer, and have no livestock to protect and worry about.

Whenever I see Reynard or his wife (what is her name? Renarda, Renardine, or Renarde!) trotting daintily through a hedge or leaping gracefully over a wall, my heart lifts, and, for an instant, I feel I am a part of Nature. These dog-like animals with their feline poise puncture our night-times with their eery screams and sharp barks, and chill our souls with their sobbing cries.

I’m sure foxes have a sense of humour. Why else would they steal single trainers from the doorsteps of houses and drop them outside someone else’s door? They also take other things that have been left out of doors, like feeding bowls, or toys from a toddler’s buggy. The truth is probably that, as scavengers, they are programmed to pick up anything they find, in case it is edible or might make suitable bedding in their den.

They may even leave a thank you in the form of scat. Believe that if you like, but the droppings are actually to mark their territory. If you have a problem with foxes stealing your running shoes, or wellingtons, or children’s toys, or walking sticks, there is a simple solution – don’t leave outside anything that you value.

Red  fox cubs

 Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons