5th May 2012
Foxes Live: TV Worth Watching
Television pictures from Foxes Live: Wild In The City last week were emotional. This wasn’t a fluffy, rose-tinted account of urban foxes, but a technology-enabled warts-and-all glimpse into the harsh realities of life (and death) of wildlife in our midst. It was gripping stuff.
The mangy vixen who had her cubs under a shed in suburbia moved me the most. Despite her shockingly bald appearance, this darling of the wild world was raising three young ‘uns with true mothers’ commitment and selfless dedication. Then, within the space of 24 hours, things went badly wrong. Her cubs degenerated and died. We were not the only viewers I bet with lumps in our throats as hidden cameras revealed how she tried to coax them back to health and even, touchingly, guided a flagging cub onto her own swollen, milky nipple.
Tragic yes, but brilliant also. A secret world revealed to the nation (well, anyone who was watching at the time). Turns out that our mangy vixen is an auntie. When her babies died she turned her attentions to helping raise another, healthy, litter to which she’s related. According to the experts this is quite normal in fox society. It’s just one of the ways that they’ve evolved to survive in a world where, despite the odds being stacked against them, foxes continue to thrive.
What unfolds remains unknown. I switch off nature programmes where kit and presenters become too high profile but anticipate that the foxes will remain centre stage. Good. We need an antidote to the cynical lies and propaganda which pass as science from the hunting brigade. As an aid to opening eyes, hearts and minds, Foxes Live: Wild In The City has got genuine potential. To catch the action tune in to Channel 4 this Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 8pm or log in to the fully interactive website, http://foxes.channel4.com/foxes
Posted by Joe Hashman
14 Comments | Leave a comment
Wendé Anne Maunder says:
Posted May 05, 2012 at 9:11 am
This is a thoughtful blog, dear Hounds Off. Surely more people will be moved by the behaviour of these wonderful survivors by this series.
tony lock says:
Posted May 07, 2012 at 8:51 pm
did danny thatcher enjoy that it si discusting killing off foxes because they make a noise /mess ect but what do some humans do the same lovely little things i hope danny goes bankrupt he loves that low job
drusillia says:
Posted May 10, 2012 at 10:02 am
good 4 u ,that man is awfull, let the humane vets decide,the foxes , life span,please
mandy cohn says:
Posted May 08, 2012 at 2:07 pm
We have been trying to find a missing border collie Jake in the loughborough area. Watching the tracking of the foxes was very interesting as Jake has been spotted quite a few times and seems to be returning to same area.
susie southern says:
Posted May 08, 2012 at 4:30 pm
where will it stop my cat buster would be shot on a daily basis all he does is watch birds we have a budgie he watches him to has done for two years. If you dont want other animals looking at your birds build some proper protection around them, every morning on my way to work i pass two foxes and my cat is with me as it is a five minute walk they just go about doing there own thing i take them scrapes when i see the cubs about they are only looking after there own as would any of us shooting that lovely fox has deeply upset me all day and im certain im not alone . susie of wimborne in dorset
Rita Cole says:
Posted May 08, 2012 at 5:33 pm
All animals especially foxes, have babies to feed, as well as their selves
drusillia says:
Posted May 10, 2012 at 9:58 am
yes a brave comment ,too many vixen are shot, ,early in the year , so we see less kits , and the joy they bring .
Claire Blenkinsop says:
Posted May 08, 2012 at 8:02 pm
Lives in Burnham on Sea Somerset
We have surrounding fields and daily you can see 2 foxes searching the filelds for food, very brazen. Last summer 2011 there was a family with 4 cubs. There was also BLACK FOX that many people use to go and look at and this was very friendly.
Foxes are seen in the gardens.
Ryan scales says:
Posted May 08, 2012 at 9:58 pm
I live in Cumbria and shoot foxes on several farms,I would just like to say how disgusted I was with everyone’s attitude towards the gentleman who came on with the baby in a pram video and can’t believe the bullying manner everyone had towards him . A wild animal is a wild animal and I am certain if I left the same pram and piglet out on a farm in Cumbria with human scent all over it a fox would not cum near, but the more humans interact with them the more the foxes will interact back , and in some cases could be unwanted. There is no getting away from foxes in large numbers cause problems probably more so in rural areas but the devastation they can cause I think u have purposely avoided and as for your foxometer the people who are ringing in look at the fox as a sweet cudle animal.to give a realistic view why not speak to real people who have had real problems not a man with budgies.A debate should be a debate and not a opertunity for 5 or 6 people tear strips out of another for trying to get a opinion across. Regards Ryan .
drusillia says:
Posted May 10, 2012 at 9:55 am
to make the fox, a protected species, would please many ,intelligent people, danny thatcher, !! how awfull he came across, shooting foxes, education enlightens ,most of us ,thank god ,we can respect wildlife, their lifestyle needs support, and understanding.
Chuck Reynolds says:
Posted May 10, 2012 at 10:59 am
I could not agree more, ridiculously one sided programme and to disguise it as a non-bias programme, they let a few people come on one at a time and all have a go at once. It is impossible to fox proof a sheep field, and impossible to teach a fox not to take the lambs.
Leyla Aziz says:
Posted May 20, 2012 at 3:03 am
Get over yourself, will you! Post mortem evidence of lambs supposedly taken by foxes shows that in the vast majority of cases, the lamb was already dead or dying when the fox took it. 95 percent of the nations chickens are in battery farms, so are not at risk from foxes or any other predators. You just wanted a programme in which foxes were made out to be mindless killers that wander around killing everything in site purely for the hell of it. What you can’t take is the fact that foxes aren’t the demon you like to make them out to be, and this is what has really upset you.
Syd Montgomery says:
Posted May 27, 2012 at 7:55 pm
Syd Montgomery
We live in Berkshire on an estate and have a Fox come to the front of the house every night and we feed it if it helps the poor little bugger to survive then we are very happy to do it they have to be brave to get food they are a beutifull animal and this crap about them attacking cats we have four and a big tom cat that helps himself to some of the foxes food and the fox waits till he has finished then moves in I also have a small parrot that I would not trust one of my cats with but that is natural why not chase them away or chuck water over them but to shoot them is cowardly how would you like to be shot.
Anonymous says:
Posted November 26, 2012 at 5:59 am
May god bless your souls for you trying to save the foxes of Great Britain against the ancient savagery.