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Two little fox cubs looking at me.

More on the fox cam

We discovered a dog bowl near the railway line not far from where we’ve been feeding Rita’s family and this morning I went down to pick up some of the rubbish that’s there as it’s an awful mess. As I was putting stuff in the bin two little cubs appeared looking at me hopefully.

Two little fox cubs looking at me.

One of them checked the food bowl which was empty so I felt bad for going empty-handed. I ended up going to a service station and bought some wet cat food for them. One of them was tucking into it as I left.

One of the fox cubs tucking into some breakfast.

I’m not sure if these two cubs belong to Rita and Ted or whether they’re orphaned. I know foxes will adopt cubs from another litter if their parents die. I’m pleased someone is looking out for them.

On the fox cam last night there is lots of activity. I left peanuts and dog food. The foxes weren’t so keen on the peanuts but the dog food disappeared very quickly. The birds finished off the peanuts in the early morning. I suspect the cubs I saw in the morning are the same ones on the video but can’t be sure.

I originally thought Ted was a dead-beat dad, consuming all the food while poor Rita was stuck in the den feeding babies. But last night Ted can be seen carrying food in his mouth – presumably back to the den – not once, not twice, but three times. He is a very accomplished hunter and seems to be trying his best to look after his family.

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Rachel M

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3 responses to “More on the fox cam”

  1. Denise Avatar
    Denise

    I went volunteering at the weekend with a pet advice charity and one of the neighbouring stands came over and asked our vet nurse volunteer about immunisations for a fox they’d rescued. The consensus was that you don’t immunise wild creatures, but there was interesting discussion about releasing rescued/healed animals back into the wild and ensuring they have adequate hunting skills – they have a problem with foxes hunting unnaturally in packs because they don’t know how to hunt individually. It is great to see you supporting animals to live in the wild in their natural behaviour patterns.

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    1. Rachel M Avatar
      Rachel M

      I’ve heard foxes don’t like being captive, even when the captivity is in their best interests i.e., recuperating from an injury or illness. For mange treatment it’s best to treat them in the wild rather than catching them as they get so stressed and time away from their territory could mean they lose the territory. I don’t want to get into the habit of feeding them long term but I don’t mind helping the sick vixen and the cubs who aren’t capable hunters yet.

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      1. Denise Avatar
        Denise

        Yes also under discussion was a local wild fox with an injured leg that our vet nurse wanted to take a look at, but she can’t catch it, it’s apparently very fast even on 3 legs. As you say, it’s that instinct not to be caught.

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