{"id":15952,"date":"2022-05-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-03T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=15952"},"modified":"2022-05-11T13:57:21","modified_gmt":"2022-05-11T11:57:21","slug":"friend-foe-fox","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/2022\/05\/04\/friend-foe-fox\/","title":{"rendered":"Friend. Foe. Fox."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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PORTFOLIO<\/span><\/h5>\n\n

Friend. Foe. Fox.<\/h2>\n\n

They live among us in the city and countryside \u2013 yet foxes are too often misunderstood and persecuted. Intimate photos cast new light on our divisive but beautiful neighbour.<\/p>\n\n

Photos by NEIL ALDRIDGE, MATT MARAN & ANDY PARKINSON<\/p>\n\n

Bright eyes<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

From a hide in Derbyshire, photographer Andy Parkinson met the gaze of this magnificent subadult fox \u2013a wild creature necessarily wary of humans but still curious. \u201cI watched this young male grow from infancy, one of seven cubs,\u201d says Andy, \u201cand this was the last time I saw him. I had waited a lifetime to look through my lens and witness such beauty.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n

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In focus<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

A blind, deaf and helpless cub born in late winter has, just months later, become this subadult with sharp senses. \u201cThe wariness of young foxes often affords moments of exquisite eye contact,\u201d says Andy. \u201cOn more occasions than I can count I have watched foxes watching people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

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Family foes<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Young cubs tussle in early summer after emerging from the natal earth, honing skills for when they have to fend for themselves. \u201cI never got to watch these cubs grow to adulthood, because I lost access to this private woodland,\u201d says Andy. \u201cThe owner wanted to use it for shooting. When I asked what he intended to shoot, he simply shrugged and said:<\/span> \u2018whatever I see\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

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Pigeon dinner<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

More than 50 per cent of an urban fox\u2019s diet comprises wild food \u2013 here, a wood pigeon caught pillaging redcurrants in a London allotment. <\/em>\u201cFoxes play an important role in urban ecosystems,\u201d explains Matt Maran. \u201cThey thrive on human food waste, but catching wild birds shows they\u2019ve retained their finely tuned hunting instinct.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

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From the shadows<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

A growing subadult traverses shadowy forest, emerging briefly into a patch of sunlight between towering trees. Vixens tend to select den sites in dense woodland close to open ground, where they can hunt small mammals while feeding their litter.<\/p>\n\n

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Pastoral peace<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Though many farmers report losses of lambs from fox predation, sheep often tolerate or ignore foxes \u2013 this one trotted peacefully among a flock. \u201cIn the seconds before I took this photo, two lambs playfully chased a fox from this field onto a stone wall,\u201d recalls Andy.<\/p>\n\n

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Fair game<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Gamekeepers are known to kill foxes to limit the predators\u2019 impact on game birds reared for sport shooting \u2013 this unfortunate individual was shot on a Wiltshire estate while breaking into pheasant-rearing pens. \u201cBTO surveys suggest that Britain\u2019s fox numbers have almost halved over the past 25 years, largely because of human factors \u2013 traffic, urbanisation, countryside management and, of course, direct persecution,\u201d says Neil.<\/p>\n\n

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Leading the hunt<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

The master of the hounds leads the Berkeley Hunt on Boxing Day. Although hunting foxes with dogs was banned in England and Wales in 2005, and in Scotland in 2002, organised hunts remain active across the UK, practicing trail hunting \u2013 following a dragged scent. However, in 2020 a video emerged of a prominent huntsman advising how to use trail licences for covert illegal fox hunts. He was later convicted and fined.<\/p>\n\n

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Fenced in<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

A predator-proof fence is erected around a chicken range near Bristol. <\/em>\u201cThe farmer used to control foxes, but now invests in improving animal husbandry instead,\u201d reports Neil Aldridge. As a result, foxes will catch rodents and rabbits that would otherwise damage arable crops, and disperse seeds from fruit they eat on the farm.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

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Roost retreat<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Barns provide a safe sanctuary for these free-range hens, the farmer ushering in any stragglers at dusk. \u201cThis kind of commitment to animal husbandry \u2013 instead of reaching for the gun, snares or poison \u2013 sets an example for how we can farm alongside wildlife in this country,\u201d says Neil.<\/p>\n\n

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Voice for the voiceless<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Fox hunting and the enforcement of the ban in rural areas remains a highly charged issue, with anger on both sides of the debate. Demonstrators hold up placards at an animal rights protest in 2017<\/span>. <\/em>\u201cA poll that year found that 85 per cent of the British public support the ban,\u201d says Neil.<\/p>\n\n

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Road casualty<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

\u201cAfter being hit by a vehicle and badly injured, this male (left) was found and taken to the Fox Project in Kent, where he was assessed and cared for,\u201d says Neil. Vehicle collisions are estimated to account for more than 100,000 fox deaths every year in Britain, more than any other cause.<\/p>\n\n

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Back to the wild<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Foxes bound from a crate into woodland in North Somerset (above) as wildlife experts watch to make sure they move safely into cover. These wild-born animals were found abandoned and taken to South Essex Wildlife Hospital, where they were cared for before being deemed healthy enough to return to the wild.<\/p>\n\n

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Light fantastic<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

A growing young fox, backlit by evening sunlight, pauses in its woodland home. \u201cI watched this cub grow from infancy,\u201d recalls Andy, \u201cwhich is always a doubleedged sword. As they become subadults, they increasingly gain independence \u2013 but this new freedom also brings with it risks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

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Doggy bag<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Having found some discarded takeaway food, a resourceful canid squeezes through a gap in a fence cut by two friendly London neighbours who enjoyed watching a family of foxes denning under a garden shed. \u201cI\u2019d set up a remote camera, hidden in a box, which snapped this fox as it passed through,\u201d explains Matt.<\/p>\n\n

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Hard yards<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

A fox emerges from shadows to scour a west London courtyard for food. \u201cFoxes have had to adapt to life in Britain\u2019s expanding towns and cities, but run a gauntlet as they pass through yards and gardens,\u201d says Neil. \u201cThe average lifespan of an urban fox in Britain may be only 18 months.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

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Popping to the shops<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

\u201cI watched this vixen patrol her territory in north London for nearly six years, but saw her enter this shop on only one occasion,\u201d says Matt. \u201cUrban foxes adopt this kind of high-risk, high-reward strategy in order to survive.<\/span> This time she turned back empty-mouthed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

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Scrapping for status<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

At the height of summer, young foxes venture farther from the safety of their den, exploring their territory and play fighting \u2013 this pair was scuffling in a London allotment at dusk \u2013 to build strength and coordination, and to establish family hierarchies. \u201cCapturing such behaviour is a challenge but also a treat,\u201d says Matt.<\/p>\n\n

\n\n
ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHERS<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

Neil Aldridge is a photographer, film-maker, speaker and professional wildlife guide, focussing on conservation issues. @aldridgephoto<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

Matt Maran is a wildlife photographer specialising in stories close to his home in north London. @mattmaranphoto<\/p>\n\n

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Andy Parkinson is an award-winning photographer, Nikon Europe Ambassador and contributes to National Geographic magazine. @andyparkinsonphoto<\/p>\n\n

The photographers\u2019 book, Fox: <\/em>Neighbour <\/em>Villain <\/em>Icon <\/em>(Hemisphere Publishing, \u00a335), is available from foxbook.shop<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

They live among us in the city and countryside \u2013 yet foxes are too often misunderstood and persecuted. Intimate photos cast new light on our divisive but beautiful neighbour.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":15931,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"40","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"40","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_40-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_40-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"May-2022","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"May-2022","purple_external_id":"May-2022-40-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"May-2022-40-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000087231||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000087231||","purple_android_product":"com.im.wildlife.491","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.im.wildlife.491","purple_ios_product":"com.im.wildlife.491","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.im.wildlife.491","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"58d61955-0ac4-406c-83f1-ab6f21d86b70","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2022-05-06T07:45:57Z","apple_news_article-theme":"","apple_news_api_id":"d187d581-8c7d-428d-91ad-8fff258d4016","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2022-05-11T11:57:32Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A0YfVgYx9Qo2RrY__JY1AFg","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":true,"apple_news_is_preview":true,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_article_theme":"","apple_news_sections":"[]"},"categories":[27],"tags":[17,14],"apple_news_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/04\/75eddf4e-038a-4cc2-b4e7-5de3e3cb36ba.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"7","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/04\/75eddf4e-038a-4cc2-b4e7-5de3e3cb36ba.jpg",2048,1355,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/04\/75eddf4e-038a-4cc2-b4e7-5de3e3cb36ba-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/04\/75eddf4e-038a-4cc2-b4e7-5de3e3cb36ba-300x198.jpg",300,198,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/04\/75eddf4e-038a-4cc2-b4e7-5de3e3cb36ba-768x508.jpg",768,508,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/04\/75eddf4e-038a-4cc2-b4e7-5de3e3cb36ba-1024x678.jpg",800,530,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/04\/75eddf4e-038a-4cc2-b4e7-5de3e3cb36ba-1536x1016.jpg",1536,1016,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/04\/75eddf4e-038a-4cc2-b4e7-5de3e3cb36ba.jpg",2048,1355,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"They live among us in the city and countryside \u2013 yet foxes are too often misunderstood and persecuted. 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