Photo Copyright: Maggie May
Last Sunday at breakfast time, Harry exclaimed, "There's a fox in the garden!"
I looked out and saw a fox walking with three legs as one of its hind legs was injured and was being held flat to its tummy in a paralysed state.
I told Harry that it was injured but he hadn't noticed. I looked out again and saw a perfectly healthy fox running about.
This went on for a while. One moment it seemed injured and the next it was perfectly OK.
I was puzzled but then noticed there were two of them. One was injured and the other quite healthy.
The sleek, slightly smaller fox jumped over the wall but the injured fox couldn't make it even though he seemed desperate to follow the other one. The poor thing just didn't seem to have the power to jump the height of the wall with just one back leg.
Not wanting to spook the animal by opening the back door, I decided he might get out if I left him, so Harry and I set off on our very short journey to church.
I was surprised and somewhat dismayed to see the fox lying low amongst some shrubs when we returned from church.
I made the dinner and went out in the afternoon, returning a couple of hours later.
The fox was still there.
Well I didn't want to feed it. I didn't want it in my garden. I have rabbits and they are prey.
I decided to ring the RSPCA. (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals).
With it being Sunday, that meant listening to lots of recorded messages and pressing multitudes of button choices. Eventually I got through to a real person who, after questioning me closely about the situation, told me there would be some one coming to collect it within the hour.
Mr Fox was curled up under a small tree when the officer came with a huge wire basket and a neck grasper and a pair of leather gloves.
I guessed he'd done this before.
I led him through the house into the garden. The minute that fox set eyes on the Officer and the neck grasper, he shot towards the shed and disappeared.
After much searching and shining the powerful torch the Officer had brought, he concluded that panic and adrenalin had given the fox the boost it needed to get over the wall.
I felt a bit of a fool but was assured that it does happen all the time. He left with an empty cage and so far, we haven't seen a fox since.
Well, my Sunday was a bit different.
28 comments:
poor Fox and what excitement...i would have done the same :)
Yes, adrenalin will push the limits.
Oh dear! After all of that, you are probably exhausted. Poor fox!! Poor you...worrying about him so!!
Hugs
SueAnn
Poor fox! I do hope someone eventually finds him, and he gets the medical attention he needs. It's so hard to capture wildlife, though; maybe he wasn't as badly injured as he appeared.
Well, of course, you wouldn't want the fox around your house, preying on rabbits and the like! How good of you, though, to try to help.
Could it be that this fellow has had an experience with the SPCA before?
You definitely did the right thing. Even though they are pests and you don't want them near the bunnies, it's awful when they're injured.
You did the right thing Maggie. At least the threat of capture motivated the fox to make it's escape :)
Poor old Mr Reynard. I wonder how he got injured. Are you sure he's not lying low under the shed?
My thought was the same as Shammickite. They're clever fellows, so perhaps he is still in hiding? Hope not, and he got away and is feeling better.
I would have done exactly the same Maggie. And I'm sure the officer speaks the truth when he says it happens all the time; at least the fox WAS still there when he arrived, lol!
We have foxes around here too, but since they built houses behind us, they seldom come in the garden, and I'm just as pleased.
A friend of a friend once stopped on a motorway to take a dead fox home in the back of their van, wanting a fox-skin rug.
Both she and her husband got fleas from it! And no rug!
After thinking the fox hadn't got a leg to stand on, he had and jumped QED. Great story. x
I am surprised that the RSPCA would come out for a wild animal.
Wow, you certainly had a different Sunday! I hope that little critter is safe and sound, injured leg fine after all.
Good of you to call the RSPCA and I'm sure they've seen it all with animals in the wild.
That was quite an adventure you had. At least you did the right thing and tried to save the fox. He just wasn't very appreciative of your efforts. Maybe he will heal on his own, let's hope so. XOX
foxes are wild beautiful creatures They may be pests to some but no one likes to see an animal in distress.If he is lying injured under the shed may be resting up will give him time to get the healing needed to get over the wall.
You know you did all you could Maggie, more than most I'm sure.
Have a great weekend....:-)Hugs
Just hope he didn't dash and run straight under a car....Whenever things like this happen to me, I can never get it out of my mind..
Wish he had been sensible to have let himself be caught! Then they could have made him better, poor thing.
The good news is that you know he's a survivor. I hope he can be captured and protected though. Like Shammie and Suldog, I'm thinking he might still be around. Maybe a bit of water and very un-bunny-like food might be in order if your rabbits are strictly indoor creatures?
I hope the lil' fox will be okay...but you did all you could. I live in a big city and believe it or not we have foxes running around. I guess from the parks...weird to see them though in a big city though..
Maggie....my heart was torn between wanting the little fox to be fed and knowing that your little rabbits didn't need a fox for a 'friend.'
My Daddy feeds 3 foxes. They come up every evening at 6:30. They have been coming for 2 years now. Of course, the situation is much different. He doesn't have kitties or pets on the place....lives on a large farm, and feeds all creatures (tame and wild.) He has been feeding an owl for 4 or 5 years, but the owl didn't come one night. It has been several months since they have seen him. They fear that he has died.
I do hope the little fox at your place isn't hurting. You have a kind heart.
I send you love and hugs,
Jackie
If the fox was able to get out on his own the ending was better as she/he probably found the other fox soon after the escape from your garden. Sounds like all ended well and you and Harry had a Sunday adventure.
Aw poor Mr Fox. Even though they can be an awful nuisance, I hope his leg gets better and he finds a more suitable place to make his home.
I imagine they were hunting food for their young. Such beautiful creatures to look at, but an incredible menace to a farmer!
Talking of foxes, you and Harry might like my blog header....
CJ x
You did exactly the right thing - I'm glad the fox had it in him/her to make an escape.
Those foxes...yep, they're a bit foxy!!! Heeehehehe!
I can jump a cattle panel taller than me it one of the wild~eyed bovines are chargin' too.
God bless and have a magnificent day sweetie!!! :o)
You did the right thing, of course. You can't have the fox around, I do hope he survives in the wild, sounds like he was in a trap, doesn't it.
Mr. Darwin's Law applies here, I think.
XO
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