Editor:
To the person who shot the female fox, and perhaps the male: We have had the privilege of living near the fox den on Upper Cattle Creek Road in Missouri Heights, which has produced so much viewing pleasure for everyone driving up and down the El Jebel hill for the past five years.
This year was exceptionally enjoyable with the litter of eight kits and the apparent success of the parents to raise them nearly to weaning with no loss of life. In previous years, a litter of four or five would result in only two or three surviving offspring.
I would say at least 100 cars stopped each week to watch the kits play and interact with the parents. Many people, some of whom had professional equipment, stopped to take photographs. Then, suddenly, mom was gone. Dad made a valiant effort to care for the kits, and we were amused by their futile efforts to nurse him and play with him, but he did continue to bring them food to keep them alive. And then he was gone.
We worried that all the babies would die, but we have since seen two or three at a time. We’re not sure what happened to the others. They were barely old enough to get the benefit of their parents’ life-lessons on hunting for food; we just hope they were old enough to survive by their own instincts.
Through the grapevine we heard of a rancher who shot a fox or two that was killing his chickens. We have raised chickens, and we know that chickens have to be protected with fencing. How sad that someone has to resort to shooting any predator that comes on his property. Unfortunately for all of us, this particular violence destroyed a wildlife family many of us knew and loved.
Each year we have all enjoyed the litters of these foxes and their increasing success at raising their young. If mom had not bothered the chickens before, perhaps it was because she never previously had eight mouths to feed. She was only trying to feed her family.
Because this individual is too lazy or ignorant to know that you can protect your livestock without killing everything that comes on your property, all of us have lost something precious. We fear and suspect that the fox den will now be empty for years to come. What a loss for all of us.
Neighbor, please consider enforcing your own security next year and in the future, rather than just blasting away the wild creatures that dare to come on your land. If we had only known what you intended to do, any of us would have helped you reinforce your fencing so our foxes could have lived.
Janet and David Boyle
Missouri Heights
Comments
"Rancher"
Using the term "rancher" to refer to the person who orphaned eight small kits by killing their parents is very, very charitable. Given his mistreatment of his own poor dog, and the sound of gunshots that can be heard coming from the property at any hour of the day or night, we're amazed that others continue to trust him with caring for their horses. (and it's not only wild creatures that risk getting blasted away if they dare to come on his (leased) property)