Is that a fox at the bottom of the garden ?

Discussion in 'The Lounge Bar' started by Ron Goldstein, Jul 11, 2011.

  1. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Is that a cat or a fox DCN0599.JPG We have a pretty long garden at the back of my house.

    As a result, she who must be obeyed often says to me "Is that a fox at the back of the garden ?" and 99 times out of a hundred I reply "No it's just the ginger tom from next door"

    Until today, when I had to reply "Yes it is a fox and believe it or not he's busy chatting to the ginger tom !"

    I kept the camera ready in case they decided to have an argument but to my utter surprise they both settled down in their own patch and simply sunbathed for the next half an hour

    Truly a case of the lion lying down with a lamb :rolleyes:

    Ron
     

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    Last edited: May 16, 2017
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  2. Gage

    Gage The Battle of Barking Creek

    A great photo, Ron.
     
  3. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    Ron
    excellent shot

    do we feel a caption competition coming on?
     
  4. Wills

    Wills Very Senior Member

    Awoke one night to one hell of a commotion out in the garden we got up and looked out of the bedroom window, a fox going around the garden flat out with the arched backed cat from next door clinging on the foxes back - the occasional leap and twist until the cat had enough over the fence it went as the fox low to the deck shot off into the wood line!
     
  5. canuck

    canuck Closed Account

    Living just north of Toronto, we now have a healthy population of coyotes in our area in addition to the foxes. I usually see one every few weeks and since their arrival the problem with stray cats has been much less evident. The coyotes seem grateful for the cat owners who thoughtfully let the hors d'oeuvres run free.
     
  6. RosyRedd

    RosyRedd Senior Member

    It looks so charming!
     
  7. Mike L

    Mike L Very Senior Member

    Lovely garden Ron!
    We get a lot of urban foxes round here, you can follow families progress over the years.
    Probably not the right thing to do but we put scraps out for them and some of them become (not sure if tame is the right word) accepting of us humans. A few bold ones paw at the step of our patio doors occasionally at night even though we must be clearly visible in the well lit living room.
    Strangely some of the foxes and local cats seem to get on OK - I would have thought they would fight to the death.
     
  8. phylo_roadking

    phylo_roadking Very Senior Member

    I would have thought they would fight to the death.


    Foxes are as cruel as cats can be - I've seen a henhouse after a fox got in and full of dead but uneated hen, yes they kill for sport and not necessarily just for food - but they're very pragmatic, see the caveat in the next paragraph; a cat in full defensive mode as far too vicious an opponent to take on :lol:

    Also - patrolling foxes....they have a patrol route that might cover 3-5 miles, with 12-15 sets or lays on it, and they follow the route, spending maybe 15 minutes in each lay, waiting for "passing trade" :p...are permanently near-starving; they daren't expend more calories bringing down prey that won't make their calories count back ;) (hence the waiting UNTIL something passes by them!)

    The distance each fox needs or its patrol/territory is why they're solitary animals; they can't survive with competition on the same territory. It's also why if you see a fox once in your garden, sooner or later yes you'll see it again ;) For you're on their circuit.
     
  9. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    It's that time of the year when the vixen plays with her cubs in my garden and this one was around this morning

    DSCN3083.JPG
    Ron
     
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  10. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    Lovely photo Ron. At my previous job at a Sports Club, one very stormy night, at each flash of lightning, I could see from my bedroom window, six fox cubs using the large plastic cricket cover as a skating rink. They were just like children playing on street-ice, taking a run up and skidding along on their behinds. Very funny to watch.
     
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  11. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Chatting to Mum on the phone the other day , suddenly she shouts, ''There's a fox going along the bottom of the garden LOOK!!''
    I replied , '' I can't , I'm on the phone.''
     
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  12. bexley84

    bexley84 Well-Known Member

    Brill photo, Ron...it's getting more and more like the Serengeti in North London.
     
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  13. Puttenham

    Puttenham Well-Known Member

    Fantastic photo, well done ! Thanks.


    PUT
     
  14. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Vixen & 5 cubs in rain   17-05-17 DSCN3099.JPG This morning at 05:30 it was raining hard here in North London but this didn't deter the foxes from rollicking in the garden.
    They spread out this time so I was able to count them properly, vixen & 5 cubs.
    Ron
     
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  15. Sheldrake

    Sheldrake All over the place....

    The foxes in North London are very bold. If you see one on the pavement it will stand its ground, knowing that they are in a neighbourhood full of animal lovers. They have bloody noisy sex lives and can do terrorise pets. Would it be churlish to call for the restoration of the Highgate and Hampstead hunt?
     
  16. HAARA

    HAARA Well-Known Member

    Fox-web.jpg
    We've had some lovely sunshine here recently, such that our local fox thought it a good idea to have a snooze in our garden!
     
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  17. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Now that's a picture of a fox !

    Well done that man !!!

    Ron
     
  18. dryan67

    dryan67 Senior Member

    I have lived on a street named Fox Hill Terrace for the last 40 years. In all that time, I have only spotted a fox once. It was confronting the cat next door and ran off when I arrived on the scene. On the other hand, we have our share of deer and wild turkeys in this part of Connecticut. Last week a black bear was spotted one town over, though we have seen an occasional one a few towns over. Even though this is a populous area, more wildlife seems to be moving in coyotes, foxes, bears, wild turkeys and deer.
     
  19. ritsonvaljos

    ritsonvaljos Senior Member

    Until the change in the law for foxhunting a few years ago subscription packs of foxhounds used to be the main means of controlling the fox population in my county (Cumbria). In fact, our "National Anthem" and the marching tune of the Border Regiment / KORBR has been always been "D'Ye Ken John Peel".

    Wild foxes, especially the older ones, tend to go for relatively easy pickings, such as isolated young lambs or chickens. During WW1 and WW2 there were a number of letters of complaint to the local press because foxes were getting the upper hand. A lot of the young men were away at war so there was less foxhunting and this was at a time when food production was critical to the war effort.

    The Huntsman of the Blencathra Foxhounds (John Peel Hunt) between 1949 and 1988 was Johnny Richardson. He was a POW in Italy in WW2 but managed to make a successful escape, no doubt using the experience of years of foxhunting and living in the countryside. For once, he was more 'fox' than 'hound'.

    Since the hunting ban the stated aim of the Blencathra Foxhounds is:
    "To provide a day's activity on the fells for all our supporters, whilst operating within the law "

    The day's activity on the fells is a combination of 'exercise and drag'. According to official UK Government advice (which I've just looked up) people can stalk or flush foxes out with dogs, as long as there are no more than two! Then the fox can be shot as soon as they break cover, as long as the landowner has given written permission. This is the link to read the Government advice:
    Foxes, moles and mink: how to protect your property from damage - GOV.UK

    The attached photographs show the Blencathra Foxhounds at Keswick on the Boxing Day meet 2016 - quite a few hounds but no foxes! I sometimes see the occasional fox when I am out running or walking on the fells. These rural foxes might give a look and then set off to wherever they had in mind.

    This is a link to a version of "D'Ye Ken John Peel":


    The foxes of London in Ron's garden and are unlikely to have any real enemies which is why they are thriving.
     

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  20. geoff501

    geoff501 Achtung Feind hört mit

    There are always many more than two in a hunt.
     

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