I know he keeps reiterating that they don't feed her, but it makes you wonder how the fox got so tame.
I'm personally in the camp in believing that handouts to wild animals is a bad idea, in general. I've read that foxes can make okay pets, if you raise one from birth. But it still has wild instincts. On the other hand, I also know people who keep half-dog/half-wolf hybrids, and that's not only illegal but also dangerous, because wolves, in the wild, can be aggressive towards humans, and are also much larger than foxes. I've never heard of a single case of a fox mauling a human being...so I was not particularly worried that this person has a fox coming to their door and even into their home!
But then again, if these people do not feed her, why would she keep returning to the house? Foxes are generally very curious, but this kind of persistent curiosity is unheard of, at least from my readings. They also tend to stay away from people, despite living very close to them. People would be surprised to know that urban-dwelling red foxes is not uncommon. They have moved closer to urban areas because food is more readily avaliable in trash cans. I used to live by a small nature center, and according to the nature center rangers, there are many, many red foxes. However, in my 10 years of going to that nature center and just sitting around quietly, I've never seen them. And at the nature center, employees do go around giving out food to the various wildlife.
The more I think about this, the more fascinated I am. This is a rare fox. If I believed in reincarnation, I'd believe that this animal is the reincarnation of someone they know.
I'm personally in the camp in believing that handouts to wild animals is a bad idea, in general. I've read that foxes can make okay pets, if you raise one from birth. But it still has wild instincts. On the other hand, I also know people who keep half-dog/half-wolf hybrids, and that's not only illegal but also dangerous, because wolves, in the wild, can be aggressive towards humans, and are also much larger than foxes. I've never heard of a single case of a fox mauling a human being...so I was not particularly worried that this person has a fox coming to their door and even into their home!
But then again, if these people do not feed her, why would she keep returning to the house? Foxes are generally very curious, but this kind of persistent curiosity is unheard of, at least from my readings. They also tend to stay away from people, despite living very close to them. People would be surprised to know that urban-dwelling red foxes is not uncommon. They have moved closer to urban areas because food is more readily avaliable in trash cans. I used to live by a small nature center, and according to the nature center rangers, there are many, many red foxes. However, in my 10 years of going to that nature center and just sitting around quietly, I've never seen them. And at the nature center, employees do go around giving out food to the various wildlife.
The more I think about this, the more fascinated I am. This is a rare fox. If I believed in reincarnation, I'd believe that this animal is the reincarnation of someone they know.
I'll definitely google Steichen now.
Reply
Leave a comment