Feedind a wild fox by hand

[jeff]

This isn't me, it’s a member of a forum that I am admin on and nothing to do with wild life but the guy was so pleased with getting the fox to feed from his hand without biting him he posted it for us to see.

What do members think of feeding wild fox's by hand?

Sorry for the spelling error posted in the title, I did try to rectify it but was unable to do so.

[Pine Marten]

I like the pics. And the fox looks like its in very good condition. Would say though that it is an "urban" fox and not a real wild one. The urban foxes are not very timid and dont mind humans.

With the kind of press they have had of late people with kids may look at it in a different light.

Pine Marten.

[jeff]

Up until a few months ago I used to see a fox walking around the houses looking for food but sadly I haven't seen him for some time now.

I never knew the difference between urban and wild fox's I just though a fox was a fox and they were driven into towns and cities by the lack of food and destruction of their real habitat.

[Pine Marten]

Hi jeff, the foxes look the same you wouldn`t tell them apart. The urban so to speak is a name given to foxes that live and breed in our towns and cities. Whereas the country fox lives there and is more like they once were "wild".

London and Bristol have a very high population of urban foxes where they are very successful in breeding an and feeding. They live under garden sheds and places like that. As you would imagine the urban ones have a good source of food from bins and the like, and people feed them as well. As i said, they dont fear man much and are pretty used to traffic.

Pine Marten.

[jeff]

What a very interesting point you made? (They live under garden sheds) Now the front end of my workshop (a large one) is around a foot off the ground and the rear is almost resting on the ground, so plenty of room under there, I noticed the other day that there is quite a big (ish) hole that has been dug under there but no sign of anything living in there.

I wonder if it once lived in there? I don't want to go under and disturb it but would there be anything in there that could help me identify what used to live in there?

And thanks for clearing up the fox question for me
;)

[Pine Marten]

Hi Jeff, here is an article worth reading. Urban foxes according to this is not that new. A very interesting read.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jun/07/invasion-urban-foxes

Pine Marten.

[jeff]

Thanks Pine marten
What an interesting read, while reading the section on the fox attacking the 2 children, it got me to wondering if the children had woken up and startled the fox and maybe causing it to attack? Who knows.

I still think its wrong that people are talking about getting rid of them, well here's one guy who will encourage them into his garden

[Nature__Lover]

I don't agree with how the press are saying 'twins attacked by fox'
Because we have no proof of this. It's like saying a person attacked somebody,
as a fact, when it is actually only a possible suspect.
Maybe a dog, maybe even a dog that they own, did this? I don't want to make too many accusations , but I think it's unfair to start catching and killing foxes because of this.

Annual estimates for dog bites in the US are around 4.2 million
yet we can only think of a handful of fox bites. I have known about 4 people in my life, who have been bitten by dogs, and never one who's been attacked by a fox.
why are the foxes made out to be the bad guys?

[Nature__Lover]

if we still had wolves and bears in england, we wouldn't be worrying about foxes!!
but we drove them out , too!

Jeff , you are lucky to have such close encounters with a fox, I wish I could!

[jeff]

I seem to remember years ago a woman was prosecuted when she said her child was taken by a dingo and it turned out that she killed her own child.

Maybe it was a family dog that attacked the young ones and they covered it up by saying it was a fox? Who knows the truth?

Looking at my pictures above, does it look like foxes attack people? maybe if you cornered one then it would defend its self, Just like any human being would do.

[jeff]

That's not me in the pictures Nature Lover, its a member of my forum, (nothing to do with wildlife) but Brett the guy in the picture was so pleased with what he did he posted the pictures in the off topic section, I asked his permission to post on here and he was delighted to give it.

[Jandy]

I'm thinking you may possibly very well be right, Nature Lover, re mistaken identity in the case of the twins. Following Pine Marten's link above, the article by Terry Nutkins in the Guardian is accompanied by one pic of a fox that quite resembles a long-tailed corgi!

[Nature__Lover]

dogs and cats do more damage worldwide than foxes. Even a cat bite could put you in hospital, if it gets infected, or you could catch a disease, or if it's simply a very nasty bite.
Luckily my cat is a softy when it comes to humans.

[Hevva]

Reading all the above comments, I am at a loss as to why anyone would want to hand-feed a wild animal. What happens when this animal gets hungry and there isn’t a hand ready to feed it. Does it then go up to the nearest human, possibly a child, and attempt to get food? This is when wild animals, and whether you like it or not, a fox is wild, are at their most dangerous. These animals have bred over many years to eat what nature gave them, and what they steal, and they have survived well.
I put any leftovers out for anything that is around at night, but to lure them in and try to tame them is a dangerous pastime. If you want to hand-feed an animal, and even give it a big cuddle, get a Labrador.

[Catscratch]

Hi everyone, I agree with Hevva that feeding a wild animal by hand is not a good idea.
There was a situation in a park in Ilford, Essex, where a local factory closed down, and shortly afterwards, the council had to organise a cull of the grey squirrels that lived in that park. They had gotten used to being fed at lunchtime by the factory workers... and so the population increased. When the factory closed down, there wasn't enough natural food, so the squirrels bacame a nuisance and it was no longer safe to go to that park. Squirrels have very sharp claws and teeth.
On a lighter note - here are some pictures of a young fox with one of my cats from quite a few years ago. The just fox wanted to play, but my cat was having none of it and turned her back on the fox. The fox eventually got bored and wandered off.

[Nature__Lover]

no, it's probably not too sensible to feed a fox (by hand)
but a nice idea to leave it a few snacks.
As if the fox did give you a nip on the hand, there is a chance you could catch a disease.

[Nature__Lover]

wow, catscratch, what fantastic photos.
And evidence that foxes don't go killing cats for no reason (as some people have stated)
it's actually more likely for the cat to strike.

[Catscratch]

There was also another cat present for some of the time - one of my neighbour's cats - he was very interested in the fox cub and circled behind it a couple of times. I kept watching in case he decided to attack the juvenile fox. Fortunately, he didn't, and everyone left with no injuries. I agree, that the fox was more in danger than either cat, especially as s/he was so young and healthy (the fox).