Fox Wild Cat and Wolverine Study Project

Thursday, 1 May 2025

Yes, There ARE British Grey Foxes...Ring-tailed Foxes and More

So as not to give any possible clues as to the location of the foxes in the photographs each is credited with "(c)2025 respective copyright owner". This is also because some of the photographs appeared on Face Book groups uncredited.

One thing that I have always, for obvious reasons, been interested in is colouration of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in the UK. Our Old British foxes were wiped o0ut along with true wild cats in the 1860s -the First Modern British Extinction Period (FMBEP) - but even before this foxes had been imported from Europe to replenish depleted "hunting stock" as far back as the 1700s (evidence suggests even before that period).

There was a shortage of foxes from around 1900 and numbers hit an all time low and so English hunts sent people to trap foxes in Ireland and bring them back to "continue the sport". As outlined in The Red Paper this had serious political ramifications and questions were asked in Parliament. This can be seen as a period where the imported fox population was on the brink of extinction.

After the First World War hunts claimed that no fox control meant the population was bursting out of control. This, again, is a provable lie and probably created due to the amount of anti hunt feeling at the time. Importing foxes from post war Europe was a problem and In the 1920s, Great Britain implemented measures to eradicate rabies, including mandatory quarantine for imported dogs and cats, which was successful in declaring the country rabies-free by 1922. No more big shipment of foxes.

This led to the Great Scarcity of 1923 at which point foxes were increasingly pushed toward extinction. The population slightly recovered into the early 1950s before more mass deaths (starvation though likely disease) hit. The fox population never recovered.

This all means that no "fresh stock" was being added to the UK fox population and while foxes were trapped and released in hunting areas (something that still goes on today with the snatching of urban foxes and cubs) it did not help build up the population. The failure of UK fur farms meant there was a certain shot of new blood from the many foxes released. These fur farm foxes would still have fallen victims to snaring, poisoning, shooting and hunting. Therefore, any changes we see today are due to an isolated population and characteristics we might find in the populations their ancestors came from.

This fox has some diagnostic features that seems to indicate that it could be of North American Red Fox (NARF) heritage and when I first saw this I had to triple check where this fox was a regular visitor and it is in an area where releases from fur farms would have taken place. (c)2025 respective copyright owner

This one was a real eye opener as it was the first of this type (alive) that I saw from the South West of England and although there had been one or two cross fox types photographed in the 1990s this was the first full on "Grey" (c)2025 respective copyright owner

Following on from reports of a "black fox" being seen by office workers we soon found that it was far from melanistic (all black). The impressive fello0w even sat and posed for a photograph before running off. (c)2025 respective copyright owner

The above is how we, sadly, see so many of these foxes and not killed by a car in this case but by a moron with a gun. Whether this cross fox was to become a taxidermy due to its unusual colouring we have no idea (c)2025 respective copyright owner

The above fox was from Southern England and there was at least one other individual looking the same in the area. When I asked the photographer questions about this one I was asked "Is it an unusual colour for a fox then?" (c)2025 respective copyright owner

You are not seeing things; yes, this fox has a ringed tail! This ringing of the tail can be seen in some very old illustrations but those are not considered evidence. Photographs of living foxes or even taxidermy examples are. There is a fox descended from foxes imported into Australia for 'sport' that was killed in the 1930s and it's tail is very strongly ringed. In conversation with the dealer who was selling the item I found out that this was not a fake tail attached to the fox but it's actual tail that it had in life and death. The grey fur is still clear.by English colonists (c)2025 respective copyright owner

This is one of a pair and although I thought they had been over fed later photos show this is their winter coat and once it is shed they are quote healthy looking. From the SE and in an area where fur farming was attempted (c)2025 respective copyright owner

It has been found that a good few foxes checked after (RTA) death have had the sooty coloured underbelly -has have some rescued foxes. This along with the darker (melanistic trait) fur has now become quite common and I have a large photo archive of such foxes and, eventually, there will be black foxes appearing (full melanism) and we have already had some unconfirmed reports of these from the South of England and well away from the North of England where silver fox-red fox hybrids are known and recorded.

The Grey foxes are obviously not related in any way to the American Grey fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) but it's easier when we fox people are discussing foxes to say £there are a couple of Greys in my area" and with the melanistic traits we just refer to them as "melanistic foxes".

These are not the only traits seen in fox coats as a number of white (non albino) foxes are known in two main areas. In fact, there are a number of "oddities" in fox fur these days and they appear to have emerged more in the last 25years. When DNA testing is rarely carried out it is to look at a particular aspect such as whether UK foxes share DNA with European red foxes; that really does not need to have DNA work carried out just research of all t6he easily available historical reference sources. Yes, today's British red fox is of European ancestry because our Old foxes went extinct in the 1860s.

What would be more valuable from a research point would be to see whether there are other DNA traces from Scandinavia, Russian or NARFs and to what extent that DNA dominates areas or the overall fox population. One might also ask why we are seeing more in the way of Cross foxes?

Foxes really do require more scientific research and education of the zoological and scientific community as well as the public on foxes and their history and how we have lost so much and are about to lose even more.

Wednesday, 30 April 2025

The Shocking Results of Over Feeding A Wild Fox

This item appeared on the Wildlife Aid Face Book page and shows exactly what I have been explaining for a few years now. You may think that 11.3 kg as a weight doesn't sound much but that is 24.91 lbs!!

With the Bristol fox deaths we weigh all foxes and the heaviest we have had out of 80 foxes are 7.1 and 7.5kgs so 15 to 16 lbs in weight and those were exceptions and not overweight but in good condition. The fox weights can be found here along with other information

Unfortunately, Wildlife Aid does not have FB Messenger and I cannot find an email for them so hope that they do not mind my sharing their post.

https://foxwildcatwolverineproject.blogspot.com/2025/04/bristol-foxes-study-looking-at-causes.html

https://www.wildlifeaid.org.uk/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJ_fUtleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETA2eERWOFBteVc3YkhUVXpLAR43kIuo4YQFUMGboLuwcqaxg4JWslaTsmn1XOSDcB4V8KEOhI0OnX8fNqxCGA_aem_m-xTr2b9BitdQeED8umvcw

No, this is not a fox suffering with balloon syndrome; this fox, we think, might just be a WAF record, and certainly not something we see every day! He weighs a whopping 11.30kg

Foxes are usually pretty good at self-regulating their food, commonly digging up lawns to cache it for a rainy day! Unfortunately for this guy, he seems to have had many (and we mean many) rainy days

! Having been told that "Tank" is being regularly fed, this takes support feeding to a whole other level. On average, a healthy fox weighs 5kg. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule; we have seen healthy 8kg foxes and even tiny, but healthy, 3kg foxes, but this guy is struggling!

His respiratory rate is higher than it should be, even for a wild fox in a stressful environment, and he's not a fan of being active. Currently, our vet and rehab team are working together to determine the best course of action for Tank, as, understandably, this is not a healthy state for him to be in. Whilst we understand the desire to support our wildlife, and the joy and connection it brings to many of us, it is so vitally important it is done responsibly; these are wild animals and they need to maintain their ability to fend for themselves, without the help of humans.

________________________________________________

To try to explain to fox feeders why this is a serious matter I reposted the item along with a note to the two biggest Face Book fox groups. The posts were "declined" and it is not surprising why.

The amount of food and 90% of it a fox should not be given is incredible and in many cases it is for social media "Likes" via photos and video clips of enticing foxes into homes as well as hand feeding. One person (with some financial support from his fans) feeds heaps of food that would feed a family of foxes for a couple weeks -all in one night. The result is the posting of anywhere from 25 (on bad nights) to 100+ photos and clips and they all get "Likes" and praise for his great work -and he has been made a group fox 'expert'/

These are sadly not classed as wildlife crimes but they should be. The occasional support feed under certain conditions (not daily) especially when medicating is acceptable but a line of 5-10 foxes lining up at "feed time" every night is wrong.

We have a huge rodent problem in the UK and foxes are the best rodent controllers you can ask for and there are no poisons killing other wildlife and it makes a far safer environment. Foxes are not garden pets (that as soon as they get a problem are ignored for someone else to deal with).

We have so few foxes left now so let them be what they are -wild canids.

Yes. Foxes ARE Going Extinct. So What?

This numerical guessology proves my point. In The Red Paper you will find mention of the"estimated" number of RTA fox deaths per year which has to be added to any over all population figure.

That is before trying to estimate how many are killed each year purely for 'fun' with men and women going out nightly to shoot wildlife and with foxes being the favourite (so dozens each week are killed that way).

We also have to consider that many cubs are dying each year from leptospirosis as well as other medical conditions and every mothering vixen killed equals 2-4 cubs dying from starvation.

"Total numbers are far more difficult to estimate than population density; hence few attempts have been made. The most recent published census (conducted between 1999 and 2000) estimated that Britain has a stable population of around 230,000 animals (before cubs are born); a further 150,000-or-so are estimated to be in Ireland.

"The Mammal Society, in conjunction with the Animal and Plant Health Agency, are working on revised population estimates and distribution maps of Britain’s mammal species. Published in 2017, provisional results of the Red fox by National Wildlife Management Centre (which is APHA and DEFRA -TH) biologist Graham Smith and his colleagues provide an estimate of the British fox population based on data from the NBN Gateway project and average fox density per habitat type. Their analysis estimates that there are some 430,515 Red foxes in the UK, although the authors do note “there is also uncertainty surrounding the estimate”.

"In 2011, the ‘official’ UK urban population guestimate stood at about 33,000 animals, although this this figure comes from a study published in 1995. I have heard figures of between 10,000 and 30,000 foxes in the London area alone, but know of no supporting data for these 'estimates'. More recently very preliminary analysis of a survey of just over 11,000 respondents from across the country, completed as part of the Foxes Live series shown on Channel 4 during May 2012, led Dawn Scott and Phil Baker (at Reading University) to tentatively estimate 35,000 to 45,000 foxes living in urban Britain. A more rigorous analysis using computer models to interpret almost twice as many survey responses, tracking data and habitat mapping suggested a much higher figure.

At the Ecology Society’s conference in 2016, Scott presented an estimate of 150,000 urban foxes in Britain. Perhaps most interestingly, Scott and her colleagues observed that there was no significant correlation between the average fox density and the number of sightings. In other words, seeing more foxes around isn't necessarily an indication that there are more (or even a lot of) foxes in your neighbourhood.

https://www.wildlifeonline.me.uk/.../red-fox-abundance...

The latest (2015) data from the Peoples' Trust for Endangered Species Mammals on the Roads and Living with Mammals surveys suggest that we're seeing about the same number of foxes killed on the roads and visiting our gardens now as we were back in the early 2000s, while the results of the 2015 British Trust for Ornithology Breeding Bird Survey (which also counts mammals) suggests that fox abundance in the UK as a whole has actually declined by about one-third since 1996. In an article to the New Scientist in January 2017, Philip Stephens of Durham University noted that there is anecdotal evidence to suggest:

“… since the hunting with dogs ban came into force, gamekeepers have felt a particular obligation to hammer foxes as hard as they can.”

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In fact, in the 1980s I was noting and reporting that fox numbers were declining steadily and by the 1990s I stated that Wales would see a massive decline within the decade. In fact the despicable and now criminal (in Wales) snaring of foxes plus local village hunts out "for fun before a pint" were reporting that they only got the occasional "measly ragged fox" while other areas reported not having seen a fox or signs of fox activity for "two to three years".

Photographers often travel from Wales over to Bristol to photograph foxes and when asked why travel all that way the simple response has always been "We can't find any foxes in Wales".

Hunts as well as countryside "pursuit" groups have always over estimated the number of foxes to keep their 'fun' going. However, as I noted in The Red Paper, when a naturalist who was a pro hunt man did a survey of hunts and yearly totals he soon discovered that his pals at hunts were very secretive and were actually falsifying how many foxes were about.

Despite the claims that without 'control' during the 1914-1918 war, the fox population exploded it had not. People still killed foxes and there was a steep decline post war. There was also The Great Scarcity of 1923 detailed here:

https://foxwildcatwolverineproject.blogspot.com/2021/11/the-great-scarcity-of-1923.html

and here:

https://foxwildcatwolverineproject.blogspot.com/2021/11/more-on-great-scarcity-of-1923.html

We also know that in the 1950s a great many foxes died. It has been suggested that their top food item -rabbits- had been killed off by myxomatosis. According to the National Library of Medicine https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19069081/:

"In 1953 myxomatosis, a viral disease of rabbits, broke out in Britain for the first time. It rapidly killed tens of millions of the animals from Kent to the Shetlands. Many farmers and foresters welcomed a disease that virtually eliminated a longstanding and serious agricultural pest. Others were horrified by the sight of thousands of dead and dying animals. "

There would still be rats, voles, mice as well as wild fowl and as foxes will also eat vegetation/fruit the idea that rabbit loss killed so many foxes is questionable/ Officially, myxomatosis got the the UK "accidentally" from France where it was introduced but many experts, because of incidents after 1953. believe that it was introduced. That aside, the fox population declined further and into the 1960s hunts were still having to hunt bagged foxes (foxes released by a hunt to chase and if caught before hounds reached them they could be used several times before death).

Far from "an abundance" of foxes. If one fox in a hunting area got mange then it was practice to kill every fox, even cubs, to stop a possible spread -new foxes were caught by hunt supporters and released in hunt areas.

The Second World War did not stop foxes being killed and the lie of a war time population boom was easily proven a lie. More and more of the public being outspoken on the 'sport' meant hunts felt they had to justify continuation.

We saw the extinction of British Old Foxes in the 1860s and more than one dip in the imported populations up until 1914 and since that time, apart from closed down fur farms dumping their foxes, there has been no new blood to the UK red fox population.

For 2025 up to 30th April we have recorded 100 fox deaths on Bristol roads and three were heavily pregnant vixens. Other lactating vixens killed resulted in an untold number of dead fox cubs. While some people with little knowledge are stating that babesia is a "ticking time bomb" amongst foxes we have proven (via the officially suppressed Fox Deaths Study) that, in fact, leptospirosis is killing foxes and cubs annually in large numbers. That put into a national scale would probably give a figure in the low thousands (1000-1500) which is, like all the official figures a "guestimate" but one based on daily study.

The number of foxes killed on roads national would hardly be the standard figure given since the 1990s of 100,000+ because we simply do not have that many foxes to spare over 100,000. There is a similar figure given for road kill badgers and, again, we do not have 100,000 RTA badgers each year because so far the unscientific cull has killed around 300,000 which is over half the badger population and in some areas they no longer exist.

It is always good for official bodies to make it appear that we have healthy wildlife numbers and as long as you have no idea of the number of species facing extinction in the UK at the amount it all sounds jolly nice. Remember the current government wants wildlife areas, badger setts and fox dens destroyed if they get in the way of developments.

It is very depressing but a fact that, by the 2030s, there may be only urban foxes and badgers left and they will be prey to government policies and developers because they do not care for wildlife or green spaces just the greed for money (legal and bribes).

I would very much like to say that we have 100,000 foxes left in the UK but if even the British Trust for Ornithology 2023 Mammal Survey (disclosure: they have not been helpful or cooperative in the past so this is THEIR conclusion) noted that Red Fox numbers had declined by 49% They sate https://www.bto.org/our-science/publications/peer-reviewed-papers/evaluating-spatiotemporal-trends-terrestrial-mammal

"Another mammal suffering from large scale declines is the Red Fox, with populations in central-southern England and eastern Wales declining by between 20% and 50% over the study period."

The BTO's statement suggests they are aware of potential conservation issues related to fox populations, such as habitat loss, roadkill, and human conflict.

Mark Avery on his blog in 2020 noted https://markavery.info/2020/06/24/the-red-fox-a-species-of-conservation-concern/ :

"So, if this trend is real then in 24 years the Red Fox has declined by 50% in numbers – halved! If this were a bird, and it clearly isn’t, it would be on the UK red list." He goes on (I add an red X on each point that is correct):

"Let’s just think of reasons why Red Foxes might be declining in numbers. Here’s a list off the top of my head:

increased road kill X
intensification of agriculture leading to loss of food X
Rabbit decline X
competition with Badgers
Red Foxes benefitted from being chased around the countryside by fox hunts and are missing them
some sort of disease X
some sort of environmental pollution X

There is no competition with badgers and I have been studying the interactions between the two for many years -as have others who have compiled photographic and video archives. Foxes missing hunts.... I have only one (rude) response to that idea!

Lastly, yes, we know leptospirosis is taking a lot of foxes and if cubs die that is the next breeding generation gone. If the vixen dies that means no more cubs. Basically, death amongst any animal population is not good.

Even though everyone knows that rabbits have declined they are still being killed nightly to "control their numbers" because that is money in a lot of pockets (more importance than species extinction apparently).

A 50% decline in the fox population? If you check out wildlife rescues you will find they are doing their best to help orphaned cubs survive and to release them into the wild with no gu8arantee that some moron with a snare or gun will not kill them before they are a year old. Or car will claim them as it did their mothers.

If anything, and mind you I've only studied foxes for 49 years so if I say I believe the population has dropped by 60% it is likely more accurate. What happens now? As far as the Labour or any government is concerned "just foxes" or "just wildlife" and they have shown scant regard for it in the past. They will no doubt "tut-tut" away when they hear "The foxes and badges are falling over the extinction line" and form a ten year committee that will eventually decide that if there are any foxes or badgers left they need saving..."Oops -Too late!"

Tuesday, 29 April 2025

Cross Fox

Someone sent me a video clip of some fox cubs and I thought "Why not?" but when the clip arrived I let out a "Oh, wow!"

In case you are wondering why I was surprised it's because it is a cross fox cub. There are two and both same as is the mother who was apparently very dark red last year but colouration has changed.

The darker colour has only become apparent in the last year and it suggests that there may be some North American Red Fox blood in their ancestry. The foxes are well out of the way from trouble so we'll keep an eye on them as they grow.

The below photo is from another area and was taken by Chris Doyle

Below a "black" fox spotted in Bristol. The darker fur colouration is becoming far more common and in the last 6 years there have been more reports of grey coloured foxes.

If you see a cross or black fox or even white or anything other than usual fox colouration please get in touch!

Old Irish, British and European Foxes -a few words

I have gone into this before but wanted to emphasise why we are interested )very interested) in getting to see in photos at least, Old European fox taxidermy. Once the land bridge to Continental Europe was flooded the wildlife once widespread across the Continent was trapped here and needed to adapt. Once the land bridge between Britain and Ireland flooded the wildlife in Ireland was trapped and needed to adapt to the local environment to survive.

The fact that a species is isolated and needs to adapt can often be used to cite it as a sub-species. If that applied then the Old foxes in Ireland would have been a sub-species as would those in Britain.

Below is a map showing Britain, Ireland, and parts of today"s continental Europe with the lost world of Doggerland in between. Map shows estimated sea levels over the last 18,000 years. The dark green shows land above sea level 7000 BC, lighter green shows land above sea level 8000 BC, and the lightest shade of green shows land above sea level 16,000 BC.

Image @NatGeo

There are Medieval and other period illustrations showing Old fox types but someone will always say "That's just an old illo" and they would be right. You can also counter by asking why the "experts" have not noticed all of this and checked. But if you look at the example of two British Old Mountain fox types below take in all the non Red fox features.

Then compare the above to a taxidermy from Czechia in the 19th century.

Hopefully you can see the similarities. For this reason, to gather far more in the way of taxidermy examples even if only photographic, we ask anyone who works at a Museum in Europe from Scandinavia down to Spain to please -PLEASE- check collections and any old fox reference books and get in touch.

DNA would be a great asset but to date no one has been interested. We need to rediscover and educate on the wildlife we have lost and which can never be returned as well as the wildlife that moved in and took over. We have lost far too many species and they are forgotten through dogma.

Monday, 28 April 2025

Badger deaths reported

Above: this is the sight greeting so many rescuers when they answer calls.

Badger deaths reported since starting the Bristol Badger Deaths Register:

2022 16

2023 56

2024 68

Total 140

Fox deaths reported since starting the Bristol Fox Deaths Register

2022 51

2023 263

2024 265

Total 579

I do not list unconfirmed deaths such as "I've seen two.on the way to work this year" or "I have passed dead foxes and badgers regularly" since, even asking, there is either no response or "Oh no idea what road it was on" and "saw a dead fox in a garden in Bedminster" with no details is not entered into the register.

A date and road or even area o0f Bristol at the very least is required.

Another problem we have is the "There's a dead pet cat on ---- road" and after much discussion someone from one of the pet groups will go out and check so that an owner can be told and "It's not a cat it's a badger" or "It's not a ginger cat it's a fox". The problem is that no one ever stops to (A):check the animal IS dead not injured or (B) look to see if (in cub season) it is a vixen or sow lactating which is important as there may be cubs nearby who will starve to death and we have five "Mismothering" cub deaths listed for 2024 (mismothering means that the vixen has probably been killed by a car and so cannot raise a cub(s).

When it comes to actual numbers killed those totals can probably be doubled.

Dead otters also need reporting asap as I only heard in late November 2024 that at least three had died and two rotted away while a third was collected and sent for incineration by the Council.

Again, we need a date, location and a photograph which can tell us a lot but also confirms that it is a genuine report -yes, we have been hoaxed in the past.

If people can pass the word along I can be contacted via FB Messenger and for any sick, injured foxes and badgers Sarah Mills (a Level 3 Wildlife Rescuer) can be initially contacted via messenger and her in situ treatment of foxes has helped over 500 foxes survive in the last two years.

Even as they stand now the fox and badger death totals should be concerning.