Have a new furry tenant....

[5030]

While quite unusual around here a beautiful red fox has taken up residence in an abandoned ground hog den under the pine trees on my rental property next door. been consuming apples from the nearby apple trees than have fallen on the ground, out there every morning eating away.

Little worried about his survival through the winter, wife is suggesting a food platform with nuts and fruit for him to consume. Don't want to chase him away, besides, they kill racoons and I presume eat them and we have had a racoon issue in the hip roof barn lately.

Pretty much keeps his distance from humans but pretty to observe.

Thought it was a Yote at first but it's not. Out here you can shoot Yotes on sight, any time, no permit needed.

 

[riptides]

All I can say is they are a messy neighbor. And when they take up residence, they leave their scat everywhere.

 

[WM75Guy]

Remember the rule. No pictures, it never happened.

 

[thepumpguysc]

Almost the same scenario at my place.. change the color to RED & change the fruit to PEARS & FIGS..
Fun to watch tho..

 

[5030]

Remember the rule. No pictures, it never happened.

As a rule, I'm not a picture person. My renter did take some pictures of him/her however. Have to see if I can upload any for your enjoyment.

 

[5030]

Almost the same scenario at my place.. change the color to RED & change the fruit to PEARS & FIGS..
Fun to watch tho..

Poop is not an issue here as well live in a very rural setting. I'm more about him staying and being fed properly. We have never (since I can remember) had a fox resident around here. He's certainly cleaning up the apple drops under the tree. bet he has loose poop.

 

[oosik]

I have coyotes - by the pack. They help control the mice and chipmunks. They poo out on the far edged of my yard. So it's never a problem.

Just prior to full dark - out on our porch to listen to their evening serenades. The latest daily gossip is passed back and forth.

 

[oosik]

Check at your local feed and seed store. Maybe they sell fox chow. I know they make and sell monkey chow.

 

[EarPlug]

We recommend against feeding wild foxes, and most other wildlife.
Whenever we feed wildlife two things happen, the animals stop hunting, and they lose their fear of humans. While befriending a wild fox may seem like a great idea, it usually ends very badly for the animal. There is a common saying among wildlife rehabbers, “a fed fox is a dead fox”.

Should I feed wild foxes?

Often we are asked: What do I feed a wild fox?” The best answer to these questions is don’t feed them. This applies to most wildlife but especially predators. We recommend against feeding wild foxes, and most other wildlife. Whenever we feed wildlife two things happen, the animals stop hunting...

www.saveafox.org

 

[Eagle1]

Doesn't that logic apply to humans as well?

 

[MossRoad]

If the fox is there, it'll find a natural diet. Putting out food will most likely attract other critters. I'd just enjoy it while it's there.

When we put our above ground pool in, I added an extra foot of sand to make it shallower for the kids. Many years later, we got a new pool wall, so I took the extra sand away as the kids were grown, and made a nice store pile with it in the way back of our yard about 4' high. The next time I mowed the lawn, the pile was only 2' high and 3 times the diameter. What the heck? I looked at it and there were little tiny tracks all over the entire pile. Later that evening, sitting on our pool deck, 4 baby foxes came out of the woods and were wrestling all over that sand pile while their mom laid nearby, resting I'm sure. Very cute to see. They were gone the next year. See foxes come and go quite a bit.

I've heard that coyotes don't tolerate foxes so well, so if you have foxes, coyote numbers might be down, and vice versa.

 

[MossRoad]

Doesn't that logic apply to humans as well?

Yes. Don't feed starving children just because they might have parents that can't or won't provide for them. Perfect logic.

 

[Eagle1]

But won't they become unable to fend for themselves and become depend on people to feed them or then take what they want if not provided?
It's the logic we use for predators, last I looked humans are the most numerous predator behind ants on the planet.

I'm going with feeding kids and orphan animals is a good thing. Teaching them to provide for themselves becomes part of that journey. We do a lousy job of teaching in the western world on both accounts.

 

[Torvy]

We're talking foxes, not kits. If the fox cannot take care of the kits, we remove them and either try to put them with a surrogate or in the care of a vet or zoo. If a healthy fox cannot take care of itself, nature will either teach it or kill it.

 

[Eagle1]

Very true......

 

[ruffdog]

We had a Fox last winter and they are very good hunters of mice.moles/shrews etc.