NEVER SEEN THIS BEFORE

[nemasis243]

Hi there had a very unusual occurance last night,while doing the rounds on many of the sheep farms which we do vermin control on we ended up at a small holding right on the top of one of the mountains.

After about 45mins of calling and 5foxes later another pair of eyes appeared comming across the bottom of a small stream .

As it come into plain view I couldnt belive what I was seeing ,It was a fox cub which crossed in front of us ,over to a dead fox which we had shot earlier,and to our amazement the cub started after a few minutes of sniffing began to eat the flesh of the dead fox.

I then dispatched the cub which I would have said was about 14 to 18 weeks old,when we collected all the fox carcases there was a vixon which still had milk.

Could anyone out there tell me have you ever seen cubs this time of year and also has anyone seen a fox come up and start eating a fresh shot fox before?

[Orka Akinse]

Nem

 

When I shot alot of foxes down Bridgend way there was cubs about just about now so thats not unusal but thats the limit of my experience, I aint never seen what you describe.

[craigyboy]

about the end of january last year I shot a very young cub maybe 20-24 weeks

[nemasis243]

about the end of january last year I shot a very young cub maybe 20-24 weeks

I have started seeing the odd one early march but never this early but for it to get stuck strait into the deadfox carcase was something else wish we had taken the video with us now

[silentsoulsleave308holes]

could it be the little cub was trying to suckle???

[tulkyuk]

You are the second person this week that has said they shot a cub - they must be changing thier habbits

[nemasis243]

could it be the little cub was trying to suckle???

Thats what I thought at first until it was getting stuck into a piece of intestine that was hanging out ,it eat one piece and then started to try and tear out another and the fox it was feeding on wasnt a vixon it was a dog

[Jay Foxing]

Hi nemasis243,

 

With the crap whether we had over 2007, the rain never stopped. I can only guess that due to all that rain many species of animals young suffered due to food and drowning, this must also apply to foxes. If a vixen looses her cubs early on in the year, she may come into heat sooner than normal. After all our domestic dog can come into heat once or twice a year depending on the individual. This is the only explanation i can come up with, remember its only a guess. As for cannibalism, its not uncommon within many canine members.

 

Hope this helps,

Jay.

[Elwood]

As Jay says, cannabilism is quite common among canines. I have only ever watched it once whilst using nigh vision, I watched a three quarter grown cub for about ten minutes eat her sibling, before she became the main course.

 

I have also come across dead cubs at earths that have been eaten, I'm guessing by the rest of the litter. When I'm shooting cubs at the earth I will quite often leave them where they are shot, on a number of occasions I have found them to be eaten or gone entirely the next day.

 

It is certainly one of the earliest litters that I have heard of.

 

Ian