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One thrill which never seems to lessen with repetition is seeing a fox. Yet, we so rarely see wild mammals that we tend to forget that we have this fascinating hunting carnivore living amongst us; and he has been here a very long time. No fossil remains of the fox have been found in Scotland, so it is possible that it may not have penetrated into North Britain until the close of the glacial period. But fossil remains have been found in caves in Ireland dating from the Pleistocene epoch and in Southern England dating from the same period. So, the fox is one of the oldest of British mammals and was probably here long before the advent of man, at a time when sabre-toothed tigers and other huge beasts roamed Africa and Asia. Foxes and wolves must have lived side by side in Britain for many thousand of years until persecution of wolves started by the Saxon monarchs ended in their virtual extinction in the 15th century, at the close of the reign of Henry VIII, although individuals may have lingered on in Yorkshire, Lancashire and in Savernake Forest. The last British wolf was killed in Scotland in 1743. But the fox, so solitary in its habits, unlike the wolf which hunted in packs and did great damage to domestic animals, never had the hand of man turned against him so fiercely. Compared with dogs and wolves, foxes are silent animals but, even so, in winter one more often hears than sees them. From December to February the wailing cry of the vixen seeking a mate, likened by some to the sound of disembodied spirits (one wonders who has actually heard them) is answered by the sharp staccato bark of the dog-fox; both wonderfully wild sounds beneath the starlit dome of a frosty night sky. And when the two meet it is the only time that they act together; for the vixen, as soon as she is pregnant, leaves the male and makes or takes an earth for herself where, after 60 days or so, she gives birth to three to five cubs (she only has six teats as opposed to eight or ten in dogs or wolves). At first covered in blue-grey wool with their eyes closed, the cubs grow remarkably quickly, increasing in weight from 3.5oz at birth to 1.75lb in 14 days, and nearly 3lb by the time they are weaned at about six weeks. From then until they leave parental care in July or August, the vixen provides the increasing amount of food they need as well as teaching them how to fend for themselves. Everything from hares, rabbits, game birds, rats, mice and voles, and any other birds which can be surprised, to frogs, beetles, grubs and worms are taken, as well as domestic poultry. As an adult fox needs nearly 1lb of food per day (about the equivalent of one rabbit) the amount of predation resulting from feeding a family of four cubs must be very considerable. One cannot see a fox or hear mention of one without conjuring up that most of English scenes - a fox hunt. Red coats, black coats, grey horses, bay horses and the hounds with their wonderful 'music' as they take a line across the stubble. But it was not always so. Foxes are mentioned in the literature of Plantagenet times, albeit somewhat contemptuously, as beasts of venery, pursued to their earths by a single small dog (probably a terrier) followed by men on foot who then proceeded to dig them out. But it was not until the 18th century that mounted men followed hounds in pursuit of foxes; up till then deer had been their main quarry. A hunted fox always seems calm and collected, and without fear, as if aware of the advantage he has in an intimate knowledge of the countryside. To those who champion him on humanitarian grounds, and by banning hunting would put him at the mercy of snares and guns; he would, I suspect raise a puzzled eyebrow, as a ruthless hunter himself; and to those who disguise political spite as concern for his welfare, he would no doubt show his contempt in true canine fashion. S.L. | TOP | |
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