Foxes On Orkney?

 Humans are a truly appalling species and responsible for so much accidental and outright intentional death of wildlife.  In the case of islands some bureaucrat sees an island as some type of unspoilt paradise even though humans have messed with the island environments for centuries.

Farmers are concerned about a fox being found -why? The old myth (and it is factually proven to be an anti fox created myth) that foxes will kill and run off with lambs -sheep are introduced livestock and not native animals). 

"A fox" and the fear mongering begins.  We know that foxes exist on islands and have done so for centuries now -some introduced in the 1800s by hunts. This I detailed in The Red Paper 1: Canids.

An island and yet a fox is still killed by a car! 

Rats and other rodents are prey for foxes and it is about time that this attitude of "We don't want it here -kill it!" was stopped.  6000 stoats killed. You do not get that many stoats unless there are ample prey animals and if stoats were not taking care of, say rodents, how would the rodents be dealt with -poisons again?

It is rather odd that a fox found in Shetland some years ago was said to have gotten there  by either sneaking into a vehicle and crossing by ferry to the island or...being naively set free there.  That means any others can be classed as an invasive species and humans can have fun and kill them.

We are wiping out foxes in the UK and wiping out badgers not to mention many other species and no one cares. The UK really does need to be shown on maps in a blood red colour because it has joined the United States and Australia as nations where wildlife is treated as  something that can be killed as a scapegoat (for human created problems) or just for the fun of it by psychopaths or by others for gain.

Humans are a detestable species.

Fox appearance in Orkney sparks concern

https://www.birdguides.com/news/fox-appearance-in-orkney-sparks-concern/?fbclid=IwY2xjawFlaH1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHYFpAWOFBiwh2m2gkxkOdZ6VJYkUWK6URFBhU8CGTryckYCQTugZEBcN_A_aem_oEAESEC9U0mH7JVG1x6-Og

A dead Red Fox has been found in Orkney, which has no known fox population, sparking concern for the archipelago's native wildlife.

The body of the young female fox was discovered near the Balfour Hospital in Kirkwall on Tuesday 9 September. Staff members at the hospital spotted the animal, which was later taken away by Orkney Islands Council and a post mortem examination was carried out at a local vet practice.

The council confirmed the matter had been reported to the police.

Red Fox is not native to Orkney and the appearance of one in Kirkwall has sparked concern for the islands' willdife (Clive Daelman).

 

Non-native foxes

Foxes have not existed in Orkney since the late Iron Age, with the only exception believed to be a failed attempt to introduce them in the 1930s.

A dead fox was found on the island in 2007, generating concern from farmers and environmentalists at the time. It was thought to have been brought over from the mainland.

Balfour Hay, one of the vets who carried out the post-mortem on the animal at Northvet veterinary surgery, said: "Based on the kind of injuries that we did see inside the body, we're fairly certain that it would have died from a road traffic accident or some other form of trauma.

"However, there was evidence on the post mortem that several of the fractures, particularly to the bones in its legs, certainly happened after it died. We don't know what would have caused those.

"There's already a bit of speculation that this animal may have been brought up from south. If that was the case, we just want to emphasise the potential risks to animal and public health from bringing animals up from outside of Orkney."

In recent years, The Orkney Native Wildlife Project has spent millions of pounds on its efforts to eradicate introduced Stoats. In only five years, the project has removed more than 6,000 of the mustelids from the archipelago.

A Quick Note

  Having to compile 80+ fox post mortem reports into on be big report so things will be quiet for a while.

Apparently my decades of "anecdotal observations" are not worth much

 

Someone, the only person to respond to my post on a wildlife group, did not like my "theory" about hedgehog decline and slugs. No information about himself and absolutely nothing about wildlife work on his limited profile.  Oh, he referred to a 1988 paper on slugs and tapeworms. That is 36 years ago and the person had no knowledge of recent hedgehog deaths or post mortems carried out on hedgehogs.

It is, sadly, what you expect from Face Book groups. As I pointed out to the person involved (his answer was that people needed to be encouraged more to take care of the environment and hedgehogs). 

As I made clear; it is a working hypothesis since no one is carrying out a study into hedgehog deaths and what is causing them   It is why I asked that people take photographs of dead hedgehogs they see, location and date and note anything unusual in the immediate area.  Four hedgehogs found dead I was told were dumped in a refuse bin so lost evidence.

I have stated that any serious suggestions I will look at since, according to the person involved her my "anecdotal observations" over 40 years are not worth much.

The internet is a lost cause!

Hedgehog Decline -environmental or natural?

(c)2024 AVBWG

I have watched hedgehogs since the 1970s as they used to visit the garden where I was living. I learnt that when building wildlife ponds, no matter how small, to put in stones so that if a hog did fall in it could get out and now drown -learnt the hard way.

Another thing that I learnt was to always check drain gratings when I moved to a new place and if a grating had not been put in place I fixed one in -again, learnt the hard way.

 I've seen the whole killing by slug pellets, rat and mouse poison left out by householders where a hedgehog can get at it and even local authority "pest controllers" have placed poison where it was accessible by hedgehogs. One told me that "This (poison) won't affect hedgehogs just rats" which was an outright lie as was the "Once rats are killed by the poison it cannot be transmitted to another animal like a cat". Firstly, it is not "transmitted" it is digested by the animal eating the rat. I found that cats and particularly foxes can clear your rat problem quickly. These days I use (indoors) sonic deterrents -these do work and they are not harmful but just make it unpleasant for rodents to come indoors. Outdoors there are cats as well as various other non lethal deterrents. Local authorities and pest control use poisons and inhumane traps because the authority can be seen to be doing something and the tenant doesn't care about wildlife just getting rid of rodents. Pest controllers are there to make money.

I used to record car related hedgehog deaths in the area and there were a lot. All of these things take their toll on a population that used to be subject to bounty killing as a potential threat to ground egg laying "game birds" and just for the fun of it because "The gardeners friend" is as innocent of causing damage as the badger. Kill a hedgehog and get a couple shillings. No one questioned why and it was good beer money. Bounties paid for hedgehogs continued into the 190s and after that they were mostly killed deliberately because they were hedgehogs.

Is it any shock that hedgehogs have declined to such a low number in the countryside that they may go extinct -they are still being killed.Humans have done a great job in killing off so many species and the liberal thinkers idea of "If they go extinct we can reintroduce them later" is just woolly headed. Your native species is gone it is gone. Extinction is forever. Are there any original British mammals left today after centuries of importing to reintroduce?

In those decades of watching and studying hedgehogs there is one thing I noticed. Few are eating their traditional slug food source.

I can prove 100% that hogs are not eating as many slugs any more. In the wet weather my front door, sides of the wall are covered in slugs of various types. One evening a couple weeks ago I counted 100 or so on the pathway and doorstep and walls. Hedgehogs were out that night. On camera they ignore slugs; slugs that are in the dry food dish they eat from. I think that over the many decades -maybe over 100 years or more- hedgehogs have learnt that slugs equal death (even now people are still illegally using old slug pellets) because slugs eat poison, they eat the slugs and die: people still use illegal slug pellets -who is going to know or report them?

Once something is a threat or known as dangerous to a species then that species learns to avoid that thing. I think that is what is happening with hogs. My garden is a wildlife friendly one so with all of the slugs (blackbirds and thrush take care of snails) I should expect some really plump hedgehogs. In fact from the four or so that used to visit it seems that we are down to two and one is getting on a bit in years. Yest, hundreds of slugs everywhere and they will avoid the easy meal in front of them to eat the dry cat food (always with a water bowl nearby). Why?

Nothing about the hogs' behaviour has changed from challenging an interloper on its territory, mating rituals -only the slug eating appears to have changed.

It has been noted that hogs do better (let's say "reasonably better") in towns as they are getting fed or scavenging cat food left out. Some people are making gardens more hog friendly as well as monitoring them by tail cams and making territories less inhospitable for them. I have no doubt some still do eat slugs but it does appear to be a dietary change.

A couple of years ago I had an adult hedgehog just die in the back garden. Nothing seemed to be wrong with it but I was told no one would post mortem exam it. In the last year we have had reports of a number of hedgehog deaths in the North of England and the house. When I hear of four hedgehogs found dead in a garden I have suspicions. I am currently looking at the possibility of post mortems being carried out of hogs but considering the fight to have foxes submitted for such and no one wanting to 'waste'; money on wildlife I am not hopeful.

Always record the death of an hedgehog; take a photo and add date, time found, location and anything unusual noted. Gathering evidence is the first step to discovering an issue that threatens a species. If you feel it necessary look online for the Animal Plant Health Advisory and their nearest PM centre -you will need to take the carcasse there but a PM can learn a lot.

If you want to ask anything the usual I can be messaged via Face Book at the UK National Carnivore Advisory page or Ashton Vale and Bristol Wildlife Group.

(c)2024 AVBWG

Ashton Vale and Bristol Wildlife Group.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/315237280619688

UK National Carnivore Advisory

https://www.facebook.com/groups/245424620670933

EXTINCTION 2030s

 The 1860s saw the extinction of Red squirrels, the Old British fox types as well as the true wild cats and many other species through hunting'. The 1860s was a turning point in UK wildlife history and it is why we find European DNA in so many species because thousands of foxes, squirrels and other animals were imported into the UK for 'sport' otherwise we would have no larger or smaller mammals.

The 1990s was a turning point and not just through hunting but still through human activity -poisons, cars, redevelopment and destruction of habitat and pollution.

We are currently looking at foxes, badger and hedgehogs along with other species heading for extinction -and these are more nature and environment aware times. By the 2030s it is likely that with the unscientific cull wanting to kill another 20,000+ badgers, that they, hedgehogs and foxes will only be found in towns and cities and attempting to survive the dangers there.

We see many killed each week on roads cutting through their traditional travel routes and the UK is so unwilling to even provide wildlife over/underpasses at wildlife death black spots.

At the current rate foxes, badgers, hedgehogs and other mammals will have mostly disappeared by the 2040s.

Who cares?

Seemingly not politicians, developers or the British 'animal loving' population.

Hedgehogs, like the Fox and Badger, Heading for Extinction?

 People keep posting online and saying that hedgehogs are recovering after being Red Listed. I keep telling them that the species has not recovered. I wish they had as hedgehogs are one of the species I have looked at since the 1970s and in the mid 1990s raised concerns about declining numbers but no one really gave a damn.

Now we know and it is grim. If you are interested in hedgehogs please read this report. The map says it all, though.

https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/SoBH-2022-Final.pdf?fbclid=IwY2xjawFX1XRleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHf2BW_-W2mZxTzNg3O99y2eGeEgdWYuu641xKz2MQBOi1opf3pzcXIlGCQ_aem_drWfUlz2Q5CcnSIzutZTvw

The Violet Gland in Jackals, Wolves, Coyotes and Foxes

  Despite their size difference there are many traits that foxes, wolves, coyotes and Jackals have and one is a scent gland in the tail. The Violet gland.

showing location of the Violet gland on the coyote tail -same position as on foxes, wolves and jackals 

Violet Gland on a wolf

On the fox. These glands show up more clearly in infra red night time photos

The violet gland is also known as the supracaudal gland. It is found on the upper surface of the tail but the gland is less developed in jackals than in other canids, such as foxes and wolves.  The gland produces a mixture of volatile terpenes that are similar to those produced by violets, which is how it got its name. The chemicals produced by the gland are released in much greater quantities than in flowers, and the resulting smell can be unpleasant. 

The violet gland is used for scent marking and intra-species signaling. Olfactory cues from the violet gland, along with other glands, play an important role in social interactions between canids. 

If you have foxes  moving through your garden or that pass through your area then you will be familiar with their smell which sometimes seems to annoy, irritate or interest domestic dogs!

The Bristol Fox Deaths Project 2021-2024 (notes)

 Currently we have over 70 completed post mortem reports on foxes which also include early facial injury cases. We have submitted 14 suspected leptospirosis foxes this year and once those PM are done we will have had 80 foxes submitted.  

My hope is that, for statistical analysis we will go as far as 100 foxes which will allow us to look at the highest, non-vehicle related, cause of death in foxes in and around the City and County of Bristol. This should then reflect what the national situation is expected to be and I would hope that rescues and vets will be more willing to submit weak, shutting down, jaundiced foxes for PM Examination locally.  The big issue is always the costs of tests since they are rather expensive and yet essential.

TEM (Techniques in Electron Microscopy) and PCR/ RT-PCR (molecular diagnostics now common in animal research).  It needs to be remember that all foxes submitted are tested for AIV (Avian Influenza Virus) before they can even undergo post mortem examination.

With a top pathologist working on the PM examinations we are discovering a great deal and other researchers are already benefitting.  What we find now will, hopefully, form a data base for any future research projects carried out.  The data will be available initially in an end of project report -the intention is to make our findings available -the work of Bristol Universities for fox study is apparently not available as a request to view the research findings was rejected.

Foxes and their health and place in the environment have long been ignored -as with other maligned wild canids- and it is hoped that we can change that not just with the Fox Deaths Project but also other work carried out including in situ treatment of injured and sick foxes.

Are Foxes A Good Environmental Indicators?

 

I was asked why it was important to find out about fox health as well as what is killing them -other than cars and 'fun' shooters.  The answer is simple; foxes, like wolves, coyotes and jackals are what can be termed "Environmental health indicators". It can be simplified with "Prey and Predator".

In area where there are large numbers of deer woodland and local vegetation suffer as numbers grow and the her only moves on after local food sources decline. In the next area they move to a similar situation arises while the previous area may take decades to recover.  Where wolves have been introduced not only do the weak and sick deer numbers drop but deer herds tend to not remain static, They keep moving to avoid the predators and vegetation can continue to grow.

Plants and wild flowers as well as fruit growing attracts insects of all types as well as reptiles and smaller mammals.  These in turn are food sources for omnivores and carnivores -like foxes wolves and coyotes have been observed/filmed eating fruit when it is plentiful. In other words the eco system is well balanced with plenty of vegetation, insects, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and birds.

If the main prey animal of a carnivore dies out or are dying from disease then the carnivore also suffers. In the 1950s we say foxes starving in the SE of England as the rabbit population was devastated by human released myxomatosis.  Other species have suffered similarly when their main prey item is dying off.

A good, clean ecosystem means that species will breed and the chances of a good number of young surviving is better.  Some species regulate breeding so that in poor years when food sources are poor there will be no young. In good years there are young as no obstacles in feeding them.   For country foxes that means that as long as there are plenty of rabbits they will do well and fewer rabbits means less crop damage. Farmers pay out a lot of money for people to kill both foxes (which do not do the harm as pro hunt propaganda would have you believe) when the fox is the best and most efficient pest control you can get for free.  One farmer noted that a fox had been on his farm for years and never caused a problem and it had made his farm virtually rat free.

The Town Fox has its main source of food in rats and mice. One gentleman at a public building knows that the resident fox catches and kills rats as each week he adds up the number of rat tails (the only part of a rat foxes do not eat) and over a weekend he counted 16.  Others -including farmers- note the number of rat tails they find and that is a good indicator that the fox does good work.  A fox is far better for the environment than poisons that can kill cats, badgers, hedgehogs as well as birds of various types.

Plenty of badgers indicate a good environment although their number is reaching a critical point.  Town badgers do well, apart from roads and cars, and so that is a good indicator of the environment.

Of course, the fox often has an unwanted companion in the magpie.  This relationship is even depicted in medieval art. A fox may leave behind scraps or may be harassed enough that its kill can be stolen -something like this was filmed in London in 2024 where a fox was hunting and killed a rat while magpies hopped back and forth.

Every predator has a bird that will scavenge from it.

Therefore, when foxes die something is wrong.  Sadly there is nothing that can be done about cars and roads but when a previously healthy fox collapses and dies  or is found dead in a garden questions need to be asked. A fox can look outwardly very healthy and yet be found to have internal injuries that led to its death after being hit by a car. People automatically start calling it a "fox poisoner" at work. A fox hit by a car can move on until the internal damage takes its toll.  Until there is a post mortem examination we are often left with a question mark over a fox death.

When it comes to foxes that look healthy but are struggling or seen to deteriorate fast there has to be  an investigation. It is never poisoning until a post mortem and testing is carried out. To date we have had only one secondary poisoning cases where a fox ate a poisoned rat. Babesia, verminous pneumonia (lung worm) and other causes have been found but when, as recently, we have fox cubs collapse and start shutting down and are jaundiced then we have to be concerned.

Concerned because, as I discovered by talking to rescues, "this happens every years" and some vets state canine hepatitis is to blame -having not carried out any tests- or "adenovirus which is rampant in UK foxes".  After all of the foxes examined to date there has not been one single case of adenovirus so it is far from "running rampant". All of the symptoms described from previous years as well as 2024 match what we have seen and found to be leptospirosis. If this is happening every year then it explains, in part, why fox numbers are dropping so low.

Our question is: can we do anything about it?  Vaccinating every fox we can find is expensive an no government would fund a massive trap, vaccinate and release programme. This appears to be an environmental situation and the death of so many cubs is yelling this at us.

The question then becomes what if anything we can do about the environmental problem.  We may have goner too far and ignored problems for far to long to be able to do anything. Even if, as the British Trust for Ornithology suggested after its mammal survey, the fox is Red Listed as a protected species (meaning nothing in the UK) what can we do?

Poisons, cars and environmental damage are already taking their toll which, with the badger heading toward the precipice and foxes declining in numbers it is very likely that both will either become extinct in the countryside and just about hang on in towns and cities where developers are always out to grab scenic green sites to build on and destroy more wildlife habitat.

Looking at what is happening to foxes is therefore very important.  The question is whether people will learn from what we find and take action?

An explanation of leptospirosis can be found here along with the fact that  the fox is not the problem here

https://foxwildcatwolverineproject.blogspot.com/2024/08/leptospirosis-why-is-it-killing-so-many.html

Fox Dispersal and Territory Challenges

  Now that we are in dispersal season for foxes there can be fighting between dog foxes as they try to claim a territory.  There have been two new reports from Brislington and Downend areas of Bristol that are being dealt with by Sarah Mills, starting with a 10 day antibiotic treatment.  

Facial wounds are not rare as it is the way dogs attack by snapping and tearing at each other -it is a clear sign when sheep have been attacked by dogs.  Left untreated these wounds can become infected.

Both are dog foxes and I have witnessed the "boxing" and open mouth challenging foxes do and twice had to break it up as it was getting to the "no one is backing down" stage and it was in a garden so bloodshed being allowed was not on.

This back wound looks rather nasty and I have seen similar on dogs that have been involved in fighting each other.

Both fights were witnessed (hence out being able to rule out a dog being set onto the fox) and luckily Sarah Mills was sent images. This means that she can now begin both foxes on a 10 day antibiotics.   If you see similar then please let your local rescue know as soon as possible.

Naturalists Can Start Out So Young They Have No Idea What A Naturalist Is.

My interest in natural history, although I would have had no idea what that meant, began early. According to my grand mother I was always studying insects and worms.  The home in Sevier Street had a big stone back wall and beyond that was Mina Road Park.

 While in Sevier Street, St. Werburghs, I looked out after a Summer rain shower to see an approximately six inches (15 cms) long caterpillar of some type –it was literally covered in long, fawn colour hair so it looked like a long mop.  It moved up the wall between the outhouse and coal shed and to this day I have never been able to identify what it was.

In Germany, in the mid 1960s, while collecting wood for the fire in woods just outside Dalborn, my father about six feet ahead of me with the wood-cart, there was a sudden silence. I turned to my left to see a young fallow deer, a true “bambi”, looking at me curiously. Some ten feet (3m) beyond it, in amongst the trees, stood the mother also looking at me. This lasted some time before we all mutually moved off.

Back in the UK and while studying at Greenway Boys School, circa 1972, I was one of two pupils chosen by the science teacher, Mr Sloper, to help out on a project.  Teachers had complained that their cars were having something similar to rust spots appearing on their cars -even though parked under trees.  Using a microscope was fun and eventually we found the culprit. No malicious pupil (as the head teacher and others suspected); it was bee "waste" and as the cars were parked under blossoming trees it made sense. My first official wildlife mystery (after the hairy caterpillar).

Above: entering Dalborn c 1980s.

My grand mother had lived in Dalborn since the Second World War but had never seen any hares.  She was a bit miffed when I returned from a walk to describe watching groups of hares and even hare ‘boxing matches’!  Animals seem to have a sense that picks up on any threat and keeping your distance, observing and letting them go about their business is always the best way to go.

When I was a bit older I did walk through the forestry and hear an odd noise. I looked down and saw wild boar piglets and at that point I broke into a cold sweat because I became aware and then saw the sow.  She stared at me as I slowly moved away, walking backwards and not taking my eyes off her.  She never charged me (which was lucky as it was a conifer forest and no branches to climb up to.

On one holidayto Germany in the 1980s, as a family, we went with our grand-father to pick dandelions for his giant rabbits.  The route was a familiar one to us –out through the farm orchard, down the tractor path and then along a basic road between cornfields and the forest. As we passed a tree stump a good few feet from the forestry my grand-father casually mentioned that the stump was where he had seen “the sturm-geist” (storm ghost/spirit). Now, Opa had suffered a stroke so his vocabulary was good but not great –he was still “re-learning” full speech.  The storm ghost had an ugly face and was covered in hair and when he saw it the beasty leaped from the trunk and into the forestry.  “It sounds like a chimp or monkey of some kind” I said.  Opa smiled that smile: “No. We don’t have monkeys here.” I thought “We don’t have monkeys but we do have storm spirits!”  Of course, Opa was probably thinking “He thinks we have monkeys in the forest?”

Opa had been alone that time but when we were all together on the rough track one day, right next to where the sturm-geist had been seen, he said “Look there!” All we saw was a glossy black, hair-covered back leap into the coniferous forestry. If you’ve seen black furred/feathered creatures you’ll know that in bright sunlight the fur/feather has that sort of brownish, even purplish glint.  So did this beasty.  I rushed forward determined to see what it was but the forestry was so wild at that point I could only get five feet or so –but we all heard it crash through the branches of the trees.

My cousin later threw almost an hissy-fit as we explained the event.  I have no idea why he was so vehement in his dismissal of the sighting.  His explanation?  It was a “fishing bird.” I was puzzled having never heard of a “Fishing bird” –I found out it was a cormorant. I’ve seen so many cormorants over the years (we have them in Bristol) that I know it was not that we saw.  And besides, our critter was leaping not flying.

On another occasion I observed what I thought was a badger emerging from forestry across some fields.

 
Everyone, including the local ranger, assured me that there were no badgers in the area. A few nights later I got up to go to the bedroom window because it was hot and sticky and the midges were being noisy pests. I heard a noise in the flower bed, about three feet (90 cms) below the window.  I looked down and there, looking up at me, was what for all the world looked like a fluffy black fox with white facial markings –almost raccoon like.  I tried to reach for the camera at my bedside that had a flash on it and trying to do so without taking my eyes off the critter.  My hand knocked the camera and I tried to grab it –when I turned back the animal was gone.

Next day..there was that look again in amongst chuckles as I explained what I had seen. I was dreaming it seems. No such animal existed. 

A much younger bearded naturalist and the hill in the background is where I saw the 'badger' enter the trees


Back in England I went through all my books and –there it was.  Fluffy black fox with white markings!  But it was not a fox, rather it was a raccoon-like dog which is a rather primitive wild canid that can hibernate and they were kept by fur farmers before escapes in the 1930s and, of course, during the war.  I had seen one the furthest west they had moved (though that was not known at the time.

Next year I took the book and showed everyone I could in Dalborn.  Not a single odd look just the very, very annoying response of “Yes. You saw one –so what?”  I was sure this was a conspiracy.

So you can imagine I thought everyone considered me a nut-case.  However, one day my aunt said to my mother: “Ask Herr Professor if he wants coffee.”  I looked around and she was looking at me.  I had no idea up to this point that the family called me “Herr Professor” or that some of the locals were also referring to me in that way.  Apparently, my constant nose-in-books, asking questions and checking everything from insects, unusual plants and animals out had earned me a reputation!

So interest started young and even today it continues.