Fox family

[Animal]

Originally posted by Stormymystic: ok, lets agree to disagree on this one,lol i am set in my ways, and could never see an animal suffer nor could i kill one, so to me thinning the herd is mans way of saying there are to many let them die by nature so we do not have to kill them are selves to make progress and take over the wilderness that they once called home...i know mythinking is not logical to alot of people, but i relate better to animals than i do humans

I understand completely. It's hard to watch animals suffering. For the record, I am not an animal hater. Last year my donations to the World Wildlife Fund amounted to more than many people make in a year.

[Atrayu]

Here

Here is a spy shot I caught of the one that looks like the dad. The other cub has all black legs and looks like the mom... thought I saw a third but not sure.

Good idea about food despersion idea. I will do that first thing in the morning Thank's everyone for the vote and I will track this poll closely. Follow up thread to come this summer for sure.

[Seraph]

Is rabies a problem where you live? Its something to consider. Rabies injections are NOT FUN!

[Bungleau]

My thoughts...

The situation happened because you cared, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't care. You've moved into the circle of food, and when you move out, there will be repercussions. Such has been life for millennia.

The fact that the foxes have shown up to eat the birdie bread just shows they're willing to adapt. They will continue to do so, or move on to the next link in the food chain.

And unless the foxes are an issue of safety or health, I wouldn't bother animal control. Where exactly would animal control put them? Sounds like you're in a good place for them.

And I'm not an animal-hater either. I love many of them (some grilled, some baked ), and I enjoy many others for play, education, and fun.

[/)eathKiller]

Unless these foxes are endangered I don't see anything wrong with you even inviting them into your home for warmth [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[Attalus]

Oh, darn, I thought it was going to be a poll on who FOX's foxiest anchor was, and I was going to vote for Greta Van Susteren. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[WillowIX]

No worries Atrayu. Those foxes would probably have arrived anyway, since there is food present (not talking about the bread). If you stop feeding them now they will probably return into the woods.

Originally posted by Animal: Well, for what it's worth I feel that nature takes care of it's own. Feeding wildlife is never a good idea, as they become dependant on it. Domestic animals are one thing, but wild animals should never be fed by humans. I understand how you feel and care, but ask yourself how they survived before you?

All too true if you feel the same for the "reverse" as well.

[Aelia Jusa]

Yes I agree with Willow - there must be food around or they wouldn't be there in the first place. I don't think throwing a bit of bread down for them is a big problem. If you are actually wanting to feed them specifically and give them nourishment, then the bread won't be doing it - so they must be getting food from somewhere else as well. I doubt they'd get much good from white bread at all. If you actually are looking to feed them properly, you'd be better giving them something with more protein in it.

Originally posted by Animal As cruel as this may seem it's nature's way of thinning the herd so to speak. Again, they did just fine before we moved in.

That's true. But we also have to take the rap for helping out nature thin the herd in many cases as well. Lots of times there's not much food because we've developed on feeding grounds or removed vital parts of the food chain. Often it would be true to say that they did just fine before we moved in, but they're much worse off because we have! Not necessarily the case with these foxes though

Interesting too that we don't let nature thin our own herd if we can help it.

[ 05-10-2003, 05:32 PM: Message edited by: Aelia Jusa ]

[Animal]

Although I'm no vet, I don't think white bread is overly good for them, but I feel that by feeding wild animals we run the risk of domesticating them, and that isn't a good idea.

Nature does attempt to thin our own "human herd," just look at the different diseases and viruses on the market today. The majority of the "thinning" occurs in thirld world countries, and countries less developed than we.

It's the law of nature: Only the strong survive.

I suppose we could attempt to stop the thinning, but then we get into the off-topic conversation of overpopulation both human and animal alike.

[ 05-10-2003, 06:41 PM: Message edited by: Animal ]

[Aelia Jusa]

Originally posted by Animal: Nature does attempt to thin our own "human herd," just look at the different diseases and viruses on the market today. The majority of the "thinning" occurs in thirld world countries, and countries less developed than we. It's the law of nature: Only the strong survive.

Yes but we don't say, oh well, those people getting exotic viruses must just be weak, we strong will survive - we look for cures and treatments so everyone possible survives, working against the law of nature. And we jump up and down trying to help people who are starving, although we don't do nearly as much as we could.

Anyway, sorry to go off-topic Atrayu [img]smile.gif[/img] . I agree we shouldn't feed wild animals, at least not in a blatant, 'here's your kibble, Foxy' kind of way