The construction company currently finishing off the Shard building in London, which will be the UK’s tallest skyscraper, recently had to call the council to remove a squatter from the 72nd floor: a young fox. He was surviving on scraps left by builders. After a check-up at the Riverside Animal Centre, the fox has been released on the streets of Bermondsey, having shown the type of curiosity we associate with cats.
An alleged fox attack on twin baby girls, while they slept upstairs in their east London home, has made front page news and provoked considerable debate. As people swap their fox experiences, an interesting picture emerges of fox behaviour in an urban setting.
The comments posted in the Guardian suggest that the fox density in certain areas of London is very high, with not enough food to go round, in some cases resulting in a population of unhealthy, short-lived animals. These city and suburban foxes have lost their fear of people and see them as a potential source of food, with some extraordinary encounters taking place: Continue reading Foxes on the doorstep
This fox was photographed in Walthamstow Central underground station late on a Saturday night. After running down the escalators, it was shooed back up again by workers and apparently left the station quite calmly in front of surprised onlookers. The image captures what an urban animal the fox has become. Full story in Daily Telegraph