Fox Cub Tragedy

[Jandy]

Last Saturday I found is our local cul-de-sac a young fox cub lying dead, apparently from a nasty wound just behind his front leg, which could have been a bite. He certainly didn't look as if he'd been run over. I removed him to our front lawn in case he got further damaged by a car or dog or something, and took a couple of photos. It really cast a shadow over my day to see him like that. He was 1 ft 2 in long (I don't do metric!) nose to tail tip, and weighed in at a pound and a half. The white thing on his back leg is I think a tick.

[Narvail]

Yes that is a tick, the wound is rather tidy and clean for a bite would which would be more torn and frayed if done by a dog or otherwise. At least he has a quieter resting place.

[Catscratch]

I wouldn't have found your post Jandy if Narvail had not replied. Such a shame to find dead wildlife and even worse when they are young and look so healthy! :( (I know that doesn't sound right, given that the cub is dead, but I hope you know what I mean.)
I hope you haven't had a repeat find.

[Jandy]

Thanks, Narvail and Catscratch, for your replies. Luckily there have been no repeat finds, but I've seen hardly any live foxes since then, not that I saw many before! Apart from one I saw once just strolling round the back garden and then sitting in the sun, the only others I have seen have been out of the bedroom window at night, when I've heard them barking and spotted them trotting along the street. It's quite a weird noise, their bark in the middle of the night, I think. Makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up!

[Rita 70]

I wonder if your fox cub was poisoned, given that you are in an urban area?

The open mouth might have been a clue.

I hope there are no more finds - they have a hard enough life without being persecuted by hiumans.

[Jandy]

I wouldn't think so, Rita, given that it had the deep-looking would in its chest, which I thought looked more like a bite, though that appeared to be the only one. Lacking a post-mortem, it will always be a bit of a mystery.