Urban Foxes

Cool.

Interesting project for people with time on their hands

https://medium.com/@james.milward/deterring-foxes-and-badgers-with-tensorflow-lite-python-raspberry-pi-ring-cameras-ultrasonic-75b3160faa3c

The AI is cool but using ultrasonic animal deterrents is not uncontroversial. The RSPCA says

"Noise levels produced by such ultrasonic devices are likely to be aversive to some animals, potentially causing them discomfort, fear and/or pain and predicting an individual's response is difficult."

Dude says he wants to live harmoniously with wildlife, he's not really though.

Interesting. Think I may need to look into something, I went into the garden yesterday to discover a fox had climbed onto the barbecue and crapped on top of it.

Dude says he wants to live harmoniously with wildlife, he's not really though.

I want to live harmoniously with wildlife, but wildlife doesn't want to live harmoniously with me. Fox bastards poo in the front and back garden every night, that need disposing every morning. Practically every night. It would test Chris Packham's patience.

My pee is a very effective fox repellent in my garden.

I might try this. Garlic and chilli spray works to a point*, but potency wears off quickly.

Let’s be honest; human piss stinks.

*foxes are great, proper characters, but they’re incredibly destructive in their habits

I see a startup here.

At my old place, we had a vixen burrow under into my shed. She had a litter of 8 pups in there that I discovered when they were still blind and covered in back fur when i went to fetch my mower. Quickly retreated and set up a trail camera up outside. Was great going out each day to check the footage / images once they started leaving the den. They hung around for a while and often saw them playing the garden and found various things dropped in the garden that they used as toys.

I think only 4 made it in the end and even found a complete skeleton in the shed at the end of the summer (no flesh or fur left at all).

Human piss stinks when it is on stairwells and in corridors. Once it has soaked into what passes for my lawn, there is no smell. Unless you are a fox.

Fox bastards poo in the front and back garden every night, that need disposing every morning.

I can cope with the random destruction of anything that is left in the garden but having to check the garden for shit before kids can go out each day is a real hassle.

Pipe freezing spray makes fox (and any other) poo much more manageable.

^
best thing I've read all day

Must be a suburban fox. Cant imagine seagulls lifting a whole pack

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You'd be surprised...

Fox shit is grim. Typically includes chewed up plastic.

This young fox has been around recently. I've never seen this colouring before.

This morning, between my house and the station, a matter of 10 minutes or so, I spotted four foxes. Not bad for a SE London postcode.

Beautiful

Was up at 4am the other day and noticed a bunch of youngins playing on the communal lawns next door. Maybe six of them and two Mums as well as an older sibling keeping its distance. Was lovely to watch them hooning about, rolling down the grassy slope and pronking about after each other without a care in the world.

We have a single young one who sleeps in our neighbour's garden but have never seen so many all gamboling about.

Decided not to mention it to the dog.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/aug/19/coyotes-bronx-new-york

Coyotes are a bit bigger than foxes, but now seem to move into New York City. I wonder what conflict with foxes there would be? They have foxes there, too:

https://www.nyc.gov/site/wildlifenyc/animals/red-foxes.page

They must be much more numerous than coyotes, but the article says coyotes are so territorial that there would be space for only 30 coyotes in NYC, and I imagine they would defend their territory against foxes, too?

Apparently, the closest Eurasian equivalent to foxes is the golden jackal, so we'll probably have those moving into London sometime soon. :)

nyc.gov has a nice page on coyotes, too:

https://www.nyc.gov/site/wildlifenyc/animals/coyotes.page

Late last year I was running (just off Fox Lane N14 :) when this fox started running alongside me. I stopped and said hi. Someone had been feeding him/her good stuff I suspect, so tame.

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The other week the little cuties ripped down a baby vest from the washing line, along with my partner’s canvas bag, ripped the straps off, and pissed on it all :) :) Got to laugh!

I had my bath towels ripped to shreds on the washing line by a couple of enthusiastic young pups. I was quite annoyed at the time but what are you gonna do?

Don’t think there is an urban deer thread, so thought I’d post this here. A wee visitor this morning to the front of our house.

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