Urban Foxes

Urban foxes

Of the various wild creatures which share our space the fox is a common species which has successfully invaded our towns. In one of the developments that has changed the face of a lot of the cities the fox has moved into London becoming a fairly commonly recognized animal. Other cities in England have also of course been colonized by the fox as well. Foxes are seen almost everywhere, in streets and in parks walking about going about their normal business.

They have certainly had an easier time of entering the city than other wild animals such as the badger and the hedgehog. Though hedgehogs are found in central London their poor eyesight tends to make them disproportionately victims of the motor car. The badger is not found in the centre for similar reasons. The fox however has freely exploited the opportunities available and has come to live in a large measure as a natural inhabitant. I have personally seen foxes cross the roads at pedestrian crossings. The fox has adapted well to the urban environment and can even climb in buildings. One was recently discovered at the top of a skyscraper under construction!

The opportunities provided by our throwaway society have provided multiple opportunities to the fox to penetrate  inner city areas,

They tend to see rubbish bins as an opportunity to forage and live off take away food and diverse scraps. One aspect of course where they could provide a control of the rat population is not happening as food is so easily available in the takeaway restaurants so scavenging is much safer option for them. Sometimes they can be quite bold walking among shoppers in broad daylight is not unknown

The reaction of Londoners is a mixed one. Most people particularly in the inner city love them and even feed them. They are seen as a particularly wonderful wild creature and a wonderful addition to the tapestry of life. In general they cause little damage although in gardens they occasionally pull up plants particularly with the activities of the young ones.

The breeding season for them is in spring and then many people are woken up with their mating cries which can be quite ear splitting.

Further out into the suburbs there is a bit less tolerance of them. Occasionally lurid stories surface in the tabloid papers about foxes entering homes and attacking babies. This is however hard to credit as the average fox is scared of people and it is difficult to approach close enough to get a good picture, let alone conceive of them entering a house. In general they are timid creatures that tend to try and stay away from people. As congeners of our cities they have a natural reserve for human beings.

Sometimes they get fed by various well wishers and can become reasonably tame although they are not particularly dog like. They are better at climbing than most dogs so high fencing panels do not create much of an obstacle for them.

For most people however they form a really special addition to our urban wildlife and the sight of a truly wild creature walking among buildings in central London is not one that anybody can forget in a hurry!