Apr 19 2009
Foxes that Think They are Dogs - Begging Foxes - Derby
- Foxes that Think They are Dogs - Begging Foxes Derby
Photo: Raymonds
Dr Richard Lavelle, 80, a widower, grandfather and retired GP from Littleover, Derby, UK, has been feeding and training two generations of red foxes in his back garden.
It all started one day, when an injured mother fox turned up at the Doctor’s door five years ago with her 3 baby cubs.
She hadn’t been able to wean her young as her badly damaged front leg left her unable to forage for necessary food.
Sadly, the mother died, leaving Dr Lavelle as their surrogate carer. He looked after the cubs and fed them regularly.
He added: “A mother fox had some cubs in a den on some allotments at the bottom of my neighbour’s garden, so I started to offer them food”.
“When the mother died, the cubs kept coming up into my garden and now I am seeing the second generation.” The Doctor said
They started to come regularly for their meal times and happily disappear, full, off into the woods again.
Eventually two of the cubs didn’t return, but the third friendly one stuck around and continued to come for its food daily.
During the course of feeding the foxes, Dr. Lavelle also taught them nifty tricks. They would beg like dogs, on their hind legs, for their dinner
He fed them on a luxury diet of turkey and ham and their begging antics have amazed animal experts as the fox can be vicious and is basically a wild animal.
Well, this has now gone on now for two generations of the fox family and up to seven a night now sit and wait at his back door for their dinner.
At the Doctors command, the foxes rear up on their hind legs, whilst the Doctor throws the turkey and ham scraps for them to catch, just like a dog.
They are so used to the meal that if he is out for the day they will sit and wait patiently on his drive until he returns home.
A spokesperson for the RSPA said: “Foxes are very difficult to train. They are very weary of humans, even in urban settings where there is frequent contact”
“We’ve never heard of a fox being trained to stand on its hind legs, and as long as they don’t do it for too long then it shouldn’t do them any harm.”
They added: People should not really train or feed foxes as they could become dependent on humans to survive.
Nick Brown, education manager at Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, said he had not heard of anyone successfully training foxes in this way before, adding: ‘The fact that the foxes go so close is a tribute to his patience.”
“They cost me a fortune in food but I just love them, love being able to help them,’ the Doctor said” with a smile. -
What a great story! It’s amazing what he’s been able to teach these foxes, and it’s lovely that it has now gone on for two generations. Those foxes must really trust him, and I’m not surprised it costs him such a fortune to feed them! Feeding so many foxes ham and turkey everynight must add up pretty quickly!
This post really made me smile. I love it when you do animal posts, and this is one of my very favourite yet. Such a brilliant post! I love reading yout blog. I’m proud of you.