9 month old twins attacked by fox

It wasn't me! · 08-06-2010 2:18pm

Truley wrote: »

It's not natural for a fox to go after a human being. A fox would never try to go after something so much bigger than themselves, it would be a suicide mission. They're not stupid. Even for something like a hen they wouldn't do it unless they were absolutely starving and as a last resort.

That's not true at all. Poorly fenced in chickens are easy pickings for a fox; it's like a free buffet. It's not starving foxes killing fowl as a last resort.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i · 08-06-2010 2:22pm

Truley wrote: »

It's not natural for a fox to go after a human being. A fox would never try to go after something so much bigger than themselves, it would be a suicide mission. They're not stupid. Even for something like a hen they wouldn't do it unless they were absolutely starving and as a last resort.

Any links of proof for this or is it just more speculating???

thebillynator · 08-06-2010 2:29pm

maybe they should get some guard-chickens

ScumLord · 08-06-2010 2:37pm

Just heard on the radio there that foxes eat baby poo. It seems people aren't putting the nappys in the bin and instead sometimes leaving the nappies on top (why I don't know) of the bin and nappy contents have become a regular part of the foxes diet.

Truley · 08-06-2010 2:58pm

Stetson Putrid Sailor wrote: »

Any links of proof for this or is it just more speculating???

My mother keeps chickens in her back yard with very little fencing and she has seen cases where a fox has tried to get at them and gotten a pretty ferocious beating for his efforts. Foxes diet primarily consists of grass, berries etc with small meets such as slugs, insects, mice etc It's not unknown for them to go after chickens but it's not really in their own best interest to do so, a chicken is nearly as big as them and fights back ferociously. I'm going by my own experience of foxes, no need to be so aggressive.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i · 08-06-2010 3:12pm

ScumLord wrote: »

Just heard on the radio there that foxes eat baby poo. It seems people aren't putting the nappys in the bin and instead sometimes leaving the nappies on top (why I don't know) of the bin and nappy contents have become a regular part of the foxes diet.

It would contain a lot of nutrients believe it or not as the baby cannot digest most of it. mmmm... baby poo...

johngalway · 08-06-2010 4:14pm

Truley wrote: »

My mother keeps chickens in her back yard with very little fencing and she has seen cases where a fox has tried to get at them and gotten a pretty ferocious beating for his efforts. Foxes diet primarily consists of grass, berries etc with small meets such as slugs, insects, mice etc It's not unknown for them to go after chickens but it's not really in their own best interest to do so, a chicken is nearly as big as them and fights back ferociously. I'm going by my own experience of foxes, no need to be so aggressive.

I would like if you would take what I'm about to say as constructive, as that's the spirit in which it's meant

Foxes aren't like cows or sheep, they won't really eat grass. It has been found in stomach contents but I suggest it's an oddity such as dogs eating grass.

They will eat most insects - ants, grasshoppers, caterpillars, slugs, beetles, worms, maggots, larvae, etc.

They eat a lot of voles, mice, rats, ground nesting birds, game birds, wildfowl, domestic hens, domestic geese, rabbits, young hares, lambs, domestic cats and a whole host of carrion from lambs right through to large animals such as cattle and deer.

- They have no hesitation in killing hens or geese. The fox is an effective hunter, but will often kill much more prey than needed if it get's in amongst fowl, domestic or game reared.

They will eat blackberries and apples in season.

One particular fox I sent for examination had calf nuts in it's stomach, just to show the variety. Lichen, plastic and some other bits and bobs were found in other stomachs. The full list is in my profile somewhere.

In the seashore they'll eat plenty of crabs, and anything else they can scavenge.

I found the baby poo diet interesting. A lot of dogs will eat the poo of young lambs as their diet would be 100% milk at that stage, so I would suggest a smiliar link with baby poo and foxes.

Calibos · 08-06-2010 4:20pm

Stetson Putrid Sailor wrote: »

It would contain a lot of nutrients believe it or not as the baby cannot digest most of it. mmmm... baby poo...

So this is an actual example of "Eat Da Poo Poo" !! Feckin' dirty GaysFoxes!

m5ex9oqjawdg2i · 08-06-2010 4:45pm

Truley wrote: »

My mother keeps chickens in her back yard with very little fencing and she has seen cases where a fox has tried to get at them and gotten a pretty ferocious beating for his efforts. Foxes diet primarily consists of grass, berries etc with small meets such as slugs, insects, mice etc It's not unknown for them to go after chickens but it's not really in their own best interest to do so, a chicken is nearly as big as them and fights back ferociously. I'm going by my own experience of foxes, no need to be so aggressive.

Sweet jesus fcuking christ...

Their diet primarily consists of grass and berries? Man, you really need to read up on this animal seriously.

Chicken is nearly as big as a fox???

I've heard it all now. Oh and agression? Where?

Calibos wrote: »

So this is an actual example of "Eat Da Poo Poo" !! Feckin' dirty GaysFoxes!

I was thinking of that too :P "EAT DA POO POO" is a legend :P

Jimmy Garlic · 08-06-2010 10:03pm

Stetson Putrid Sailor wrote: »

Sweet jesus fcuking christ...

Their diet primarily consists of grass and berries? Man, you really need to read up on this animal seriously.

Much the same as ourselves foxes are omnivorous, they do eat grass, berries etc. They don't primarily eat grass, berries etc but that kind of stuff is an important part of their diet.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i · 08-06-2010 10:13pm

Jimmy Garlic wrote: »

Much the same as ourselves foxes are omnivorous, they do eat grass, berries etc. They don't primarily eat grass, berries etc but that kind of stuff is an important part of their diet.

Never stated otherwise. Claiming their diet is primarily made up of grass and berries is crazy.

Truley · 08-06-2010 10:32pm

Stetson Putrid Sailor wrote: »

Never stated otherwise. Claiming their diet is primarily made up of grass and berries is crazy.

You can't say a fox primarily eats anything as they are scavengers and hence their diet varies depending on location, season, food supply. I still stand by my belief that they don't go after humans but will be happy to be proved wrong if forensic evidence can prove otherwise.

Zombienosh · 08-06-2010 10:32pm

When I heard this story I instantly thought of the dingos ate my baby story.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i · 08-06-2010 10:57pm

Truley wrote: »

You can't say a fox primarily eats anything as they are scavengers and hence their diet varies depending on location, season, food supply. I still stand by my belief that they don't go after humans but will be happy to be proved wrong if forensic evidence can prove otherwise.

:rolleyes:

Nobody claims they "go after humans"...

Of course they can have a primary food source, regardless of what you may think, that primary food source is meat, be it insects, rabbits or other.

You are open to forensic evidence, but do you really think a forensic team will be dispatched to study this site? Why is the word of the parents not good enough? You are wrong, you have been proved wrong already, but you still continue... pfft.

franklyshocked · 08-06-2010 11:05pm

"allegedly" attacked is the key here. Even the cops have doubts
I'm just the most sceptical person in the world.
I lived most of my early life in the country and this just doesn't sound like anything a fox would do. Sure foxes will attack a hen house but going into a house where people live. Doesn't ring true to me.
Then again, dingo's actually did kill that womans baby.....

ScumLord · 08-06-2010 11:08pm

Stetson Putrid Sailor wrote: »

:rolleyes:

Nobody claims they "go after humans"...

Of course they can have a primary food source, regardless of what you may think, that primary food source is meat, be it insects, rabbits or other.

I don't know you could be that specific with city foxes. Their primary food source is our waste, whatever that may be. Every other natural food source is just not worth the effort when they have our waste just lying there. Foxes will eat whatever's available, for a scavenger meat would be a fairly readily available food source in the wild due to animals dying. I'd assume that's the only reason they show preference for meat.

stovelid · 08-06-2010 11:23pm

While I feel sorry for the kids, I've never learned so much about foxes in my life which is pretty cool.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i · 08-06-2010 11:26pm

franklyshocked wrote: »

"allegedly" attacked is the key here. Even the cops have doubts
I'm just the most sceptical person in the world.
I lived most of my early life in the country and this just doesn't sound like anything a fox would do. Sure foxes will attack a hen house but going into a house where people live. Doesn't ring true to me.
Then again, dingo's actually did kill that womans baby.....

Any links?

ScumLord wrote: »

I don't know you could be that specific with city foxes. Their primary food source is our waste, whatever that may be. Every other natural food source is just not worth the effort when they have our waste just lying there. Foxes will eat whatever's available, for a scavenger meat would be a fairly readily available food source in the wild due to animals dying. I'd assume that's the only reason they show preference for meat.

Ah yes, of course, we are the reason why they are in the cities... Plenty of bins are ripped open by foxes and then blamed on cats and dogs

stupidusername · 08-06-2010 11:50pm

I can't believe that they caught a fox (not even proven to be the supposed attacker) and killed it. Unbloodybelievable. Why would ANYONE think this is a solution?????!!!! This is just craziness. This stems from complete ignorance of nature, animals and just everything!

Truley · 09-06-2010 11:43am

Stetson Putrid Sailor wrote: »

:rolleyes:

Nobody claims they "go after humans"...

Of course they can have a primary food source, regardless of what you may think, that primary food source is meat, be it insects, rabbits or other.

You are open to forensic evidence, but do you really think a forensic team will be dispatched to study this site? Why is the word of the parents not good enough? You are wrong, you have been proved wrong already, but you still continue... pfft.

Two children were seriously injured and disfigured, possibly permanently. The cause of the injuries appear to be a once in a million, extremetly unlikely, freak event. I would imagine the authorities would be very interested in establishing the facts of the case. Firstly to rule out whether it was a cover up for something more, secondly to get a better insight into what this means for the behaviour of foxes, what they are capable of doing. Like I said there has never been a proven case of a fox attacking a human, it's an interesting case.

Intensive Care Bear · 09-06-2010 11:51am

what about this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMryofv3T9Y

Truley · 09-06-2010 12:08pm

1210m5g wrote: »

what about this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMryofv3T9Y

The United Kingdom is considered a rabies-free jurisdiction but of course I wouldn't rule it out as a possibility.

Intensive Care Bear · 09-06-2010 1:15pm

Just want to add a little local knowledge, i live a few minutes away from where this happened and i must admit the place is crawling with foxes and they have absolutely no fear of humans. A few weeks ago i was walking to a friends house which is only about 5 minutes from my own house and on the way i saw 7 foxes, some of which were so tame you could almost rub them down ( i lived in Tipperary for 21 years and never saw that many ) The reason i think there is so many around here is the fact that a lot of local people insist on throwing there half eaten chicken pieces on the foot path. Seriously you can not walk 10 meters in Hackney without seen the remains of a chicken, its disgusting. The solution i suggest is a type of urban fox hunting, instead of the upper classes it can be open to the lower classes, instead of horses they can use scooters and instead of hounds they can use there pit bulls. That or get people to use proper bins.

ScumLord · 09-06-2010 1:20pm

1210m5g wrote: »

The solution i suggest is a type of urban fox hunting, instead of the upper classes it can be open to the lower classes, instead of horses they can use scooters and instead of hounds they can use there pit bulls. That or get people to use proper bins.

Ye could run after them screaming and pee al over everything. It probably sounds stupid but it's the law of the animal world the biggest loudest animal wins without even fighting. It's a bit more human than killing them but probably not as effective as cleaning up the rotting food.

Your right though the only real solution is for them to stop living like pigs.

Amalgam · 09-06-2010 1:31pm

1210m5g wrote: »

Just want to add a little local knowledge, i live a few minutes away from where this happened and i must admit the place is crawling with foxes and they have absolutely no fear of humans.

There does seem to be a problem in particular parts of London. The Daily Mail (sorry..

) covered this two years back. There is an active Fox culling\relocation strategy in London.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1050156/Pictured-The-quick-brown-fox-jumped-family-sofa.html

Mr Lindsay-Smith said he and his colleagues were shooting up to 70 foxes a week - more than double the number they killed last year.

They also trap dozens a week humanely and release them outside the city.

johngalway · 09-06-2010 3:10pm

franklyshocked wrote: »

I lived most of my early life in the country and this just doesn't sound like anything a fox would do. Sure foxes will attack a hen house but going into a house where people live. Doesn't ring true to me.

The problem with what you're saying is the insertion of a countryside fox to an urban situation.

When a countryside fox get's the smell of humans he associates that with danger most of the time. So a countryside fox would be extremely unlikely to enter a house.

Urban foxes live among people, surrounded by them, and therefore are much less inhibited when it comes to people.

So you are right, a countryside fox wouldn't fit into this situation. But, an urban fox may.

goat2 · 12-06-2010 12:00am

franklyshocked wrote: »

"allegedly" attacked is the key here. Even the cops have doubts
I'm just the most sceptical person in the world.
I lived most of my early life in the country and this just doesn't sound like anything a fox would do. Sure foxes will attack a hen house but going into a house where people live. Doesn't ring true to me.
Then again, dingo's actually did kill that womans baby.....

i would be of the same mind as you, as i live in the country also, some poster on here said the mother saw the fox, so she was the only one to see it, also who in the country or city leave doors opened and go to bed, i always make ssure the doors are locked, downstairs windows closed, and i consider my locality safe, yet i would rather err on the side of safety, any crazy could have come into that house and taken the babies, thay would gave gone miles before those tots would been missed

9 month old twins attacked by fox

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