I’m trying to remember when One-Eye first appeared in the garden. I can certainly remember my first sighting of him – it was in a local pasture, when he was a slim reddish yearling travelling with his brother. But the date is eluding me.
I didn’t guess then that this sleep-loving visitor would become the top fox of the Horse Meadows Group, whose territory includes my garden. But all kings have rivals. The HMG has a problem: another fox family just overlaps their territorial border.
That second group – I call them the Across the Road foxes – has produced the most irrepressible vulpine characters in my parish. Here’s One-Eye facing off against one of the Across the Road vixens.
He loses, regularly. Any doubt about the Across the Road group’s supremacy was extinguished last year when they produced four of the most bullish cubs that I’ve ever met. At the same time, the HMG suffered habitat loss from overgrazing and development. Then its veteran vixen Pretty Face joined the Across the Road group! It’s like a fox soap opera.
As for One Eye – he vanished in January, no doubt because the AtR cubs were so domineering. None more so than this chap: Cavalier Cub, who has a swagger that a cat would envy.
Weeks turned into months, and still no sign of One-Eye. I was sadly concluding that he was probably dead. But at the end of June, there he was, resting on the parched lawn!
Where did his travels take him? Potentially many miles away, possibly even into Kent or Sussex – foxes can wander far. It is also possible that he was living quietly on the edge of his territory all this time, waiting for the AtR youngsters to release their grip on the garden. Cavalier’s mob are still around, but less fixated on the garden than they used to be.
Anyway, One-Eye is a regular visitor again. But he’s prioritising sleep, and not sharing his mysteries.
A Walk with Wildlife 
Wonderful photos. They sound like an animated bunch!
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Thanks Belinda 🙂 They are indeed, and they provide endless free entertainment! Following their ups and downs over the years has been fascinating.
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Lovely post and photos, Adele! I really do like foxes.
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Thanks Pete 🙂 I love how they all have such different personalities.
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Life in the wild is full of adversity. Glad One-eye is still at large.
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Adversity, yes, and social drama. I can never predict what is going to happen with the foxes from one year to the next. The arrival of the Cavalier Cub and his siblings sent a shockwave through not only their own family (their mother and grandmother left the group altogether) but also the neighbouring territories. I’m curious to see if they mellow as they grow older.
And I’m glad to see One-Eye too. Thanks! 🙂
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Adele, your foxes continue to amaze me! What a grand group! I’m glad your old buddy came home! Oh, the tales he could tell!
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I wish he had been wearing a radio collar! His secrets will stay secrets forever…
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Like medieval tribes/families and their wars for the land. Amazing how much resemblance humans have to animals 🙂
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Indeed, and I’m sure the arrival of strong personalities in those medieval tribes shook the status quo such as much as Cavalier Cub’s arrival did here. It is fascinating to think about the resemblance!
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