I've been listening to the Man City vs Arsenal game on Radio Manchester (via the BBC sounds app) and it is 0 - 0 at half time. Outside the study there's been a new Fox at the feeding station. It is a very battle scarred individual, although doesn't appear to be struggling. Unlike the other visitors, this character is very confident and has come straight up to the bowl without any fannying around. I've grabbed enough images to ensure that all the id features have been recorded. Are the scars around the face and that open wound on its' front left leg a result of inter Fox squabbling or has it had an encounter with a domestic dog?
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Still buzzing after yesterday's excitement and already planning the next visit to another stretch of the RMC where I enjoyed a good level of success twelve months ago.
Dyl, I find watching the antics of our local Foxes fascinating. Like your latest specimen I've seen a number with damaged limbs over the years. I've even had one with an entire rear leg missing. This year? just the one with a front sore paw. I do wonder how much damage is inflicted by other Foxes? A lot of the time when they sound as if they are tearing each other limb from limb they aren't even touching. Like the other night. I was woken up by the most tremendous racket. I looked out of the front window only to see one Fox sitting there facing me with another Fox two yards away to its left just squawking and yapping. The one sitting was a dog Fox, the other was smaller. Maybe it was his missus giving him ear ache. Sure was loud enough.
ReplyDeleteRic, I have to admit that I've not spent much time, ever, actually watching Fox behaviour. All my recent encounters revolve about the comings and goings of the animals using my feeding station. Photography, not scientific research, is the underlying reason for this activity. I do occasionally see the odd Fox, hunting adjacent fields/farmland, when I'm out with the fishing kit but still don't study what they're up to.
ReplyDeleteAs for the wounds and scars? I'm siding with the idea that domestic dogs have inflicted these injuries opposed to other Foxes but, as I am willing to admit, could be totally wrong with my thoughts. On a more cheery note - seems like Gav has stirred up a bit of a Hornets nest with his book review. Looks like some decent blogging material will be produced as a bi-product. Toodle-pip - Dyl
I leave food for foxes at the front of my house nightly and have an excellent view of them from the kitchen window . Also have noticed several of them have injuries or scrapes I’ve thought it is most likely the lifestyle they live going through hedges , fences and barbed wire ? Several have been seen limping which I put down to thorns which my dog used to get and hold his paw up for me to remove frequently ! They don’t have that option ! Had one last year with very obvious burn marks across its back , where would that come from , it was around firework night perhaps had been sleeping in a unlight bonfire , who knows .
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for this comment. Some very interesting observations to enhance the debate. Like I've said to Ric, my own involvement with garden Foxes is purely due to a desire for photographic opportunities. As such, I consider myself very privileged to see these stunning animals at such close quarters yet have never made any further effort to study their behaviour and lifestyle beyond the garden boundaries. I'm sure that there will be plenty of informative insight, via the internet, into UK Fox populations, particularly urban/sub-urban, where there is ample opportunity for interaction with humans and their pets.
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