Sudden plague of foxes....

[JoulesH]

We farm on the edge of a rural town and tend to know roughly how many foxes are about and where they hang out, obviously subject to seasonal changes. It has been a fairly quiet winter, there is obviously one holed up on a bit of new woodland planting just off our land to hide a new industrial monstrosity, but other than that, few around and few heard calling - we had only commented on this about 10 days ago.

Then last Fri I saw 2 late afternoon broad daylight, within 15 mins of each other, both relatively tame, one was stalking 3 hares and was distinctly cheesed off when the hares saw me and scarpered (the fox just sauntered away once they'd gone).

The next day I lost 4 chickens in the afternoon, feathers every where, 2 disappeared, 2 left dead, one of which was half eaten and the other half buried. I chucked the carcasses over the fence and they too disappeared the next day in which my neighbour apparently lost one of his geese; both farms have dogs barking in their yards. His wife reported seeing 3 foxes in their yard that day, and my brother in law saw 2 on one of our fields, all in broad daylight.

Strange to suddenly seem so many adult foxes in broad daylight all at once, and so tame, and when there are plenty of rabbits around for them to catch. Wonder where they all came from? That is why we get a bit annoyed with some 'animal lovers'. Needless to say as our neighbours start lambing in 3 weeks time, they were out lamping on their quad last night. I've no idea who actually catches and dumps these foxes but it's not fair on the foxes and it's not fair on the rural areas.

[mbaldw]

Interesting observations Joules. I'm wondering whether there might be an alternative explanation to the foxes having been dumped? As you're probably aware, winter is a very disruptive time in fox society; now is the height of the breeding season, with males travelling long distances and invading other fox territories looking for breeding vixens. If you're seeing the foxes together then I would suggest it's probably a vixen accompanied by one or more dogs (I have read a report of a single vixen in Moscow being tailed by four dog foxes). If a dog is following a vixen close to estrus his attention is entirely focused on her, such that he may forego food to keep an eye on her. Once they've mated he may then leave her (tracking in Bristol suggests many males do) and go searching for other un-mated vixens - this can account for more daytime sightings and possibly more diurnal hunting attempts.

Additionally, fox family break-up (assuming it occurs) commonly happens through winter, with the young being kicked out by their parents and forced to look for alternative lodgings. This too can result in more daytime sightings as the yearling foxes (which will be fully grown) wander about looking for a place to settle down. In some cases the cubs will disperse of their own accord, but in others they will lurk around the periphery of their natal territory trying to keep off of their parents' radar before they get the message. Conceivably, this could also result in an increase in sightings.

Why you're seeing more foxes this year than in any previous year is unclear, but then that's the nature of wildlife. Off-hand, it could be that you now have a receptive vixen on/near your farm for the first time and she is attracting a lot of attention. It is, of course, possible that the foxes were dumped (I dare say it happens from time-to-time), but I suspect more general aspects of fox society explain your experience.

Cheers,
Marc.