Manchester's Urban Fox
Catching four individual foxes on night vision cameras and after doing some research this week, it was a surprise to learn that the Urban Fox is more numerous than I imagined.
The trip cameras we use filmed them eating bread that we originally left for the birds. The goal was when we set the cameras for night-time recording that we may catch a hedgehog or two, but we never imagined catching one Fox, let alone four.
Four individual foxes visiting one garden in a single night, I thought was very impressive and something we never expected, and so this prompted me to do some research. What I learned was unexpected, and that the Fox truly is an impressive animal and an expert survivor of man’s concrete jungles.
The urban Fox is a direct result of man developing the world into a concrete jungle. To survive this new world, foxes have become scavengers.
The Fox has always been opportunistic when seeking food and as a result will eat almost anything. Another surprise to find out is that Foxes according to some sources only live 1 -2 years. The reason for this short life span and why it is so hard for them to survive in nature is because of the constant threat of predators and natural obstacles.
The urban fox as we know them today are survivors. However, part of their existence in the urban world is also due to them becoming dependent on humans. For food mostly. In the wild, a fox will only make a kill once or twice a week.
Above is the night-time recordings we took of the foxes, and on the right is one of our Trip Camera’s that we use. Trip cameras are just one of many ways we capture Wildlife on film. We have had great success so far and keep an eye open for the article about Cyril Squirrel who made a star performance on camera.
At night, the Manchester streets come alive with movement from foxes. The Fox is nocturnal, and the urban fox takes advantage of the emptiness a late-night provides. They feed from gardens, rubbish bins, and back porches if people leave out scraps for them.
Since the Fox is a wild animal that hunts and exhibits wild behaviour, a lot of people worry they can be dangerous. People will sometimes report foxes as being dangerous to their pets. While there are some cases where a fox might kill a house pet like a cat or a small dog, it is extremely rare.
Foxes in urban environments mostly hunt and feed on rodents. This is one reason large cities are a place where they thrive.
A fox that has an easy meal, like rats and rodents, will not go through the trouble of fighting and killing a cat or dog.
Pets that are allowed to free-range are more likely to get killed by automobiles than they are by wild animals.
Being the opportunistic animals that they are, what they eat varies greatly. Some foxes will eat from gardens. Some eat out of rubbish bins. They will hang around restaurants, waiting for them to throw out waste food.
Foxes will sometimes build their dens in empty areas that are adjacent to places that throw away food, such as supermarkets and restaurants.
A fox eats rodents such as mice and rats and other small mammals.
They can have a larger home range too, hunting on the outskirts, and returning to the urban cities for easy access to other types of food.
Some people feed urban foxes. Leaving them their food scraps, sometimes leaving out dog food and cat food for them. While this seems like a good way to help foxes, it can sometimes cause them to become dependent on humans and gain excess fat from rich tinned pet food.
So having learned a little more about Foxes, I am looking forward to their next night-time visit’s. A great video to watch about a man befriending a Fox can be found here.