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Easter is upon us and so is spring! The days are elongating, warming and weather conditions are much less harsh. The grasses are greener and there are more plants for newborns to feed on when they enter the world.
Living in a city alongside wildlife can come with its challenges. The species that we know, and love can live in very different habitats, ranging from lakes, to hedges to as close as our back gardens. Local resident Lizzie knows all about the latter, as she has had some furry friends living in her garden for a few years now.
Here is what she had to say:
“So, Stumpy is the amazing matriarchal fox who has lived in my garden for years. I've nicknamed her stumpy because she has no tail! She used to have a bit of a tail but over time it has disappeared. She also appears to be blind in one eye. But that doesn't stop her living her best life!
“She spends a lot of time curled up on the hill at the back of the garden...and just watches if I go in to hang out the washing etc. I try to tiptoe over to her to get good pictures but she only lets me come to a certain point before running off to hide under the bushes.
“Every year she has a litter, normally of 4 cubs. Over the last year in lockdownI had the pleasure of watching them grow up over the summer as I was at home much more.
“And most exciting of all, last April on a beautiful warm spring day I was sunbathing in the garden when one of the cubs got brave and came quite close! I managed to capture a couple of pics and a little video. He was BEAUTIFUL!
“Every year I wonder if Stumpy will have gone but every year she keeps coming back with new babies!”
It’s so fantastic that Lizzie has been able alongside Stumpy and her family so harmoniously over the last few years. However, this is not easy and allowing your garden to be shared with foxes really requires a lot of respect and trust.
Lizzy spoke, “I deliberately decided not to feed them as I wanted them to maintain a healthy fear of humans. But when it was really hot I did put out some water for them.”
This is really important for a few reasons. Although they share a back garden, distance between Lizzie’s family and Stumpy’s is key. Occasionally foxes can become aggressive towards humans if they feel threatened. They can also feel very anxious and cautious of close human proximity, so for these reasons, we must keep our distance. Our gardens can be a key habitat for urban fox populations, so in order for us to conserve and protect them as a species, we must be somewhat tolerant of them sharing our spaces.
Fox cubs are not the only babies we could see this Easter time. One key example of where spring babies can often fair poorly in urban areas is at ponds and lakes. Geese, ducks and swans produce gorgeous fluffy little offspring, that often don’t survive to see summer. Some of this mortality is completely expected and all part of the process of natural selection. However, we need to be careful not to interfere any further with this process and keep our non-wild domesticated species under control around these fluff balls (I have already seen some gorgeous Egyptian goslings this year!)
Another thing we can do to protect Easter chicks is to let our hedges and bushes grow a little wild over the springtime, to not disturb any nesting birds. A few years ago I had blackbirds nesting in my garden, and I came very close to disturbing their nest. We need to be really careful with trimming and cutting our garden plants over these months, to not disturb or worse kill any hatchlings.
Thanks so much Lizzie for sharing your gorgeous Stumpy story, and image of one of her cubs! I’m sure it will warm a lot of hearts and remind us all to be tolerant, respectful and appreciative towards the animals we have around us!