Aha! Positive ID

[altivo]

The chicken thief who was discussed back here has now been positively identified. I was headed to the back of the pasture to dump a wheelbarrow full of compost into a low spot, and as I reached the gate a red fox dashed out of the neighboring hedge to the east and headed for the mystery den. He/she was more than half way there when I became apparent and my fox turned in a graceful arc and headed back into the hedge. Duration of sighting: about 3 seconds. ID is positive, though. There's no mistaking that magnificent tail even when it is shedding or soiled with mud as this one was.

I know foxhunters in the US southeastern states deliberately put food offerings near fox dens to encourage the fox to stay about. Anyone know more about that? I don't want to trap or harm this critter, nor do I see any particular nuisance threat in its presence. It may reduce the number of woodchucks and rabbits who threaten our vegetables, in fact, and I wouldn't mind seeing it again occasionally.

Comments

[deffox]

Ah, neat.

I wouldn't put food right at a den. They might stay, or abandon the den. But try to guess the fox's route, and put it there.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I'll research it farther before trying anything. I think the big denning season may be about over until fall anyway, so our guest may well be ready to move along soon.

[pioneer11.livejournal.com]

I dunno, I'm not sure how to trap a fox (at least outside of Taps or
FM but that entails quite different techniques).

I'd guess that the fox is looking for a local, and reliable, food
source. Beyond moving to Houston I'm not sure how to dissuade him.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

That's fine, I don't need to chase him off. Quite the opposite. If I get to see a glimpse of him once in a while, he's welcome to stay (and eat the neighbors' chickens too until they run out.)

Hmm. I wonder if he'd like to eat more than that? Wayward children? Stray dogs and cats?

[pioneer11.livejournal.com]

Ironically, your comment reminds me of the Mcdonalds
"Chicken Man" commercial where the black dude tells
his co-worker. "Your going to turn into a chicken
if you keep eating those things!" Then...the eerie
music...then...as he goes in the bathroom a...feather?
He looks out down the hall and...a fox is in the
living room! (with a nice floooofy tail). Finally,
the last scene is him putting his feet on the floor
as he gets out of bed and they are...chicken talons!

AUUUHG!

^_^

[hrrunka]

Good! I just spent ten minutes or so watching one of the local foxes snuffling round my garden. I dosed the lawn with fertiliser today, and I think the fox thought it might be edible...

[altivo.livejournal.com]

*nose wrinkle*

Tsk. Ruining perfectly edible grass by dumping chemicals on it and making it smell and taste bad.

[hrrunka]

Yeah, well... my lawn doesn't get the more... erm... natural sort of fertiliser. ;)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

You need a sheep. Lawn mowing without the sweat, and free fertilizer applied automatically. ;D

[hellmutt.livejournal.com]

You remind me.

As a youngster, I had a few old books about one "Mr. Buffin", a bumbling middle-aged gent who lived alone in what looked like a big stately home. In one book, he bought a goat to keep his lawn in check the lazy way.

Of course he did not properly secure his rose bushes, vegetable garden, etc etc and, well, you can guess the rest. ;)

But it was ok, because in the end he was reconciled with the goat, hitched it to a little trap, hung a Union flag from one of its horns and drove it around on Sundays. (Erm, yeah, I did say they were old books!)

[hrrunka]

Aye. Goats are not by nature the best animals for keeping grass short. Pruning bushes, yes.

[hellmutt.livejournal.com]

It was a pretty realistic cautionary tale in that regard. ;)

[hellmutt.livejournal.com]

<3 for living in the country with livestock and NOT going all "GRR FOX DIE DIE KILL".

(My dad lives in the countryside and has no animals except a badly-trained dog that attacks rabbits and chickens. And yet even he complains about foxes for all the same nebulous justifications the Coutryside Fox-Dismembering Alliance give and despite never having seen one. It's idiotic, and he should get his own house in order first.)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Heh. A fox isn't going to harm my horses or sheep. If it gets one of our ducks, that will be our own fault. We lock them up in a wooden house at night for just that reason.

I welcome the native top level predators as a sign that we still have a healthy ecosystem here. The occasional fox or coyote or red tailed hawk means that all the underpinnings are still functioning. If the balance goes really awry, the predators will be the first to suffer I think.

[hellmutt.livejournal.com]

You = officially a hero of mine.

I know it's mainly an excuse, but farmers over here use their failure to look after their livestock responsibly as an argument against allowing foxes to run around unchecked.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

I've never seen a woodchuck o.O What do they look like?

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Here are some pictures. Click tabs above them for other information.

This is the infamous "ground hog" of "Ground Hog Day" (Feb. 2) who is supposed to come out of his hibernation on that day and peek from his burrow. If he sees his shadow, he goes back in to sleep more and winter lasts another six weeks, but if there is no shadow he stays up and winter is over. No one seems quite sure where this American myth comes from.

They are cheeky and entertaining critters. I knew someone years ago who had one as a house pet, and it was quite friendly and curious. They are powerful diggers though and an adult can demolish an entire vegetable patch in a matter of minutes. About five years ago we had a mom with an entire litter in a burrow under our barn. The babies were really cute. Then they found the garden... I couldn't bear to do anything about it, but suddenly they all disappeared. Then about a week after we noticed their absence, came the first time I spotted a red fox in our pasture...

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

Ahh so that's what they are, why do they call them "wood chucks"?

Woodchuck?

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I think the derivation of that one is debated and unsettled. In spite of the children's tongue twister poem:

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck,
If a woodchuck could chuck wood?

As much wood as a woodchuck could chuck,
If a woodchuck could chuck wood.

Woodchucks don't chew or chuck wood. They do seem to prefer living in the margins of wooded areas, however, where there is lots of brushy cover to dash into and tree roots to support the roof of their excavations. My own suggestion would be that the "chuck" is the British slang for pal or friend, so the woodchuck is a friend in the woods.

They also seem to like hiding in or tunneling under woodpiles.

[animist.livejournal.com]

In Japan, foxes are considered good luck, because the mice they eat will not be devouring the rice in the store house. If you do put out offerings to the fox, make sure that he or she is not being taught to beg food from humans. Never feed a wild animal in person. Associating food with humans is very dangerous, because animals such trained end up dying at the hands of less enlightened humans. I hope you foxy friend stays there and brings much good luck to your farm! Better yet... perhaps the fox will settle down with a mate there, and this spring you'll have little ones.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Well, if I understand red fox social behavior correctly, "settling down" isn't quite their style. I'd enjoy seeing babies though.

I believe the females have territories within which they hunt and den, while the males are more or less wanderers who don't help out with the child rearing responsibilities. ;p Not my idea of noble behavior, certainly, but whatever works for them, I guess. This is only my third fox sighting in seven years here, and I'll be glad if it turns out to be something more lasting.

[animist.livejournal.com]

Oh, I sure don't wanna get in to any debates about animal lifestyles and attributing to animals any human motivations! I have read that the actual behaviors of wild canines vary by region based on food availibility. Where food is scarce, adults don't share territories, and females have smaller litters, Where there is more food, adults can share territories and share in raising a larger litter of pups. Even where the dad is a "good father" by human standards, and he and the wife may have pups together year after year, they often do not winter together. This is probably because, again, limited food resources are stressful and drive adults apart. This is what I have read in books about foxes.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

That sounds reasonable enough. So maybe if I add more chickens to the area, thus improving the hunting, I'll get baby foxen. Hmm, I'm not sure that's a trade off I'm willing to make. I love the fox, but hate the chickens.