The frisky fox cubs that stole my heart
WRITER Helen Weathers wishes she could give the brush-off to the family of foxes that has moved into her garden (Mail). My experience couldn’t have been more different. A fox we named Fergie began to visit our garden one January, obviously scouting for a suitable place for a den. It would stand on the patio to look at us through the French windows. We had to rename the fox Fiona when she had six cubs that March under the Japanese tea house at the bottom of our small garden. To supplement their diet as they grew, every other night I left out cat food in a bowl near their den. Fiona was a good mum and made sure her cubs were all in the den before leaving the garden to go hunting. But the cubs would get up to all sorts of antics in the garden. If she found any out when she returned, she’d give them a good telling off. The cubs did little damage: they made one or two divots on the lawn, which were easy to repair, and left muddy footprints on the floor of the tea house veranda. They would run up the two steps, jump off the side, run round and do it again and again. They practised pouncing from an upended sturdy box. Fiona stole soft toys and balls left by the neighbours’ children in their gardens and gave them to the cubs so they could chase each other for them. She was obviously not a first-time single mother. As the cubs got older, we worked out they must be four males and two females. The two smaller ones played nicely together, while the larger ones were much more competitive. As they grew, they got bolder and more curious. They would come to the patio in the evening for the mealworms we left out for the blackbirds and would often look in through the windows as if checking to see if it was OK to eat them. If there weren’t any mealworms, they’d let us know by barking at the patio doors. Our garden is enclosed by a 6 ft fence and he wondered how they would get out when the time came for them to move on. In the July, we saw Fiona encouraging the cubs to jump on to a 4 ft lantern, from which they would be able to scramble over the fence. A week later, she took them out, two at a time, over three days. Fiona returned the following year and had a good look round the garden — but I had blocked off the entrance to her old den, so she was out of luck. She left for the last time by the same route she had taken the cubs. If a fox has cubs in your garden, there’s not a lot you can do about it. None of the usual agencies will want to know. So enjoy the experience and take lots of photos.
BOB FORD, Sale, Gtr Manchester.