The foxes still visit the garden every night. The photo below shows four, the alpha vixen at the back and three cubs of varying size but recently I have only seen two or three foxes together.
A few weeks ago the food was all gone within an hour. Now there is sometimes food left when I go to bed, although it is all eaten before dawn. They still manage to eat one litre of peanuts every night - that is 600g, or about 1000 peanuts, so shared between six or seven foxes they each eat around 150 peanuts.
I am very intrigued by the persisting difference in size between this year's cubs, even though they should all be full grown by now. I also think there were more cubs than the five which is the highest number I have managed in one photo this year. There are probably three small cubs and at least three large cubs and perhaps some in between size. I am fairly sure that the alpha female and her daughter from last year were both feeding young in the spring so I wonder if the small and large cubs come from different litters within the same large family. Robert Fuller recently posted on his blog the story of a fox family in York with two (presumably related) breeding females with ten cubs between them. He had the advantage that the cubs were in the garden so he could count them. My cubs have to be big enough to travel from wherever their den is and jump into the garden so I don't see them until they are older and never see them all together.
These photos show a small and a large cub so you can see how striking the difference is.
Here are two small and one large
And two large and one small.
Although male cubs are larger the size difference here isn't related to sex as at least two of the small ones are male. Here is a short video of one of the large cubs with two of the small ones.
Marc Baldwin says in his blog that although in most circumstances only a single vixen within a social group will produce cubs, two related vixens may both produce cubs and subsequently "pool" their litters. The alpha vixen and both her daughters from last year still visit the garden regularly, probably every night.
I have seen less of the dog but he is still around (that's his photo at the top of this post). On one occasion recently a cub was pushing its luck and had to be reminded who is boss.
I don't think I'll see large family groups any more this year but I'll keep an eye out to see who's about and what they are up to.
Great example of submissive posture (presumably!) by the cub.
ReplyDeleteIt is Phil. I also thought the dog was very restrained in his reaction - I have seen much more aggressive encounters. I wonder if the cub just wanted to play. The others are now very grown up in their behaviour.
DeleteYou certainly are generous with the peanuts, Christopher! And your customers are adorable. Very much enjoyed the link to Robert Fuller's video.
ReplyDeleteIt works out at a 20kg sack every month Florence but it is worth it to have them here. I tried dog biscuits in the past and the foxes will eat them if there is nothing else but they seem to prefer the peanuts. They also get chicken skin and bones, an occasional squirrel, or time-expired egg from the fridge. There is a rabbit in the garden which I would prefer to be without but I don't think there is much chance of the foxes catching their own dinner.
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