Had a surprise the other night

[emmmy_lou]

Anyone who has seen a fox in a town city or suburb might want to let channel 4 know?

http://foxes.channel4.com/fox-map/sightings/add

They are investigating as part of their foxes in the city thing (starts tonight I think)

http://foxes.channel4.com/

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

They are protected so much they want to cull them!

[maddercow]

Apparently young male badgers get kicked out of the sett in their teens and have to find their own house bless them.  They have strong teeth and jaws so can break through wooden fences and hedges quite well.

As far as I know they are protected so if you know of any idiots with their dogs on the prowl report them!

I had a regular badger for a few weeks and he was lovely but because he dug a latrine in the back garden Mum shut him out.  I just don't get why people are so precious about their gardens I really don't.  Still at least it makes it a safe haven for the hedgehogs.

XXX

[emmmy_lou]

The badger was much bigger than I though It would be (having only seen them run over previously  ) I for one like them more after reading about them. Don't know if this one had been bullied from its set 

I could imagine they could do some damage to a fence 

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

What my vet told me wa that for a fox to attack a cat is a total last resort and the fox will be starving to death.

I get mad at my mother cos there is a badger in their area, maybe more than one and because every one has blocked up there gardens with fences the badger breaks the fences to get to where it need to be.

I have sugeested they leave a hole but noooooooooooo...........sigh

[thekittensmittens]

badgers were very common when i lived in devon and quite brazen there are badgers near me now but i worry about them been attacked y idiots with dogs. you tend to have to spend time out at night to spot badgers

[maddercow]

Foxes are a lovely bunch of lads, they have got a bad name but I don't think they deserve it and personally I love them and think they have a very hard life. 

I have seen two foxes, two cats and a hedgehog on my lawn in the past, all perfectly happy in each other's company.  I throw chicken drumsticks in the field opposite for our local foxes occasionally, I love watching them and so do my cats. I feel sorry for them as since those food bins have been introduced in my area there isn't much scavenging for them, so any leftovers we have go to the foxes.

Unless a cat is frail or very small I would tend to back a cat in a confrontation with a fox any day.  Foxes just want an easy meal and a cat isn't one of those for sure.   I know they have attacked cats in the past but I don't think its that common, cats are more at risk from cars, out of control dogs and people than the odd fox.

I have only ever seen ONE live badger... and masses of poor dead ones at the side of the road.  Badgers can be pretty fierce I gather but then I don't blame them, its tough out there... nobody seems to like badgers and I don't know why. I certainly don't buy the tuberculosis connection, apparently there's an island with no badgers on it but the cattle still get TB so they can't be the only carriers.  Maybe I am naive but can't we vaccinate our cattle?  Or is just that is it more expensive to vaccinate than to cull badgers I wonder?

We should all value what little wildlife we have left I reckon.

Jo XXX

[Bren22]

'nother shock yesterday.  Dead pigeon, not a feral one, a wood pigeon, outside my backdoor on the mat.  Typical cat kill, i.e. neck wound, and Harvey looking very pleased with himself.  Now.....anyone who knows me knows that I am scared of dead birds......stupid I know but they used to have a habit of not being really dead and flying up at me!!  So, what to do!!  I had bought a long handled snow shovel after the last snowfall, so very gingerly and from far off, got the bird on to the shovel and into a bin bag, then into the wheelie bin.  I felt so brave I deserve a medal.  Harvey's none to pleased as he's been looking for it.

[thekittensmittens]

we have a fox who comes to visit each night, i actually like foxes.there is another one who does his rounds in the fields opposite so if you time it right you can get quite close. foxes tend to follow a routine

i used to work as a cleaner for an old couple..the old fella had a badger and a fox..he used t feed them mr kipling pies the gardener used to go off his head about it.

[emmmy_lou]

Wow  I would of panicked!!!

About a year ago now I saw denzel and a strange cat with a big fluffy tail in our garden (built up area too). She was still only little, so I went out to investigate to find it was a badger!!!

Panic ensued and i safely got her inside for the rest of the night. That weekend there was a lot of fuss 2 doors down cos a badger was stuck under their shed 

I read up about them after that and they would only defend themselves against a cat apparently, glad we have no foxes tho

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I suppose cats are pretty well armed and foxes can't afford to loose and eye or anything like that

Thats what my London vet said.

I never saw one but used to hear the scream when they were mating..............thats how my vet got involved cos I asked him

[Tiggy's Mum]

I love foxes  I'm always amazed that such a large creature can survive in the wild, I know they been doing it for thousands of years but I'm always amazed by foxes and badgers!

P.S Harvey is pretty cute too! 

[Dawn F]

my old cat always used to see them off with a nasty look!  I suppose cats are pretty well armed and foxes can't afford to loose and eye or anything like that

[Bren22]

I'd gone out to call the cats in for bedtime at about 9.30pm and as usual they were ignoring me.  Harvey (big white yob) was in the neighbour's garden sniffing a huge satellite dish they have there and it was obviously far more interesting than me!  Then, over the wall jumped...............a FOX, deffo a fox, my outside lights were on and I saw him clearly.  My heart stopped as you can imagine, and I had visions of flying white fur and lots of gore.  However, they just stared at each other for a couple of seconds, only a couple of metres (yards in English) apart, then foxy jumped back over the wall and disappeared.  Harvey didn't turn a hair and still carried on ignoring me.  I didn't get them to come in for another half hour and then it took a waggled food sachet to persuade them.  I know we used to have foxes even though it's a built up area, but since we all got wheelie bins there isn't the food available for them.  What a surprise.