Yes, this is one of the full pictures from when the one used for the community avatar was taken. This is a few years back, and not the same fox as the one in the gazebo. I’ll post another one from the same set in the comments.

  • V HOPM
    2•1 year ago

    Thank you. I live in a suburb of London, and foxes are just very common here because of easy access to scavenging food. It doesn’t concern me - while they’re certainly much more used to people than they used to be, it takes very little before they’re scared off. They’re wild animals so I wouldn’t approach them, but as long as you don’t actively corner one I wouldn’t worry.

    The pictures where they’re looking at me and remaining relaxed are all with the garden door closed - I don’t know if it is that they can’t smell me or that they understand the door is a barrier, but there’s a big difference in their demeanor then. If it’s open, they will not come close, and they’ll run away at the slightest hint of me moving toward them.

    One funny thing is that it matter a great deal if I look at them - I realised it’s a lot easier to take pictures of them if I make sure to look at my phone screen at an angle while taking a photo instead of at them, because as long as I’m averting my eyes they seem to see me as much less of a threat.

    • @[email protected]English
      1•1 year ago

      Really interesting observations! I used to have a cat and I loved trying to figure out how he perceived things. I don’t know much about foxes, and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen one. Per the Wiki page, urbanized foxes in Europe are a known thing - I never knew. I’m in Toronto, Canada. Around golf courses and parks/forests of similar size, there might be some coyotes that live in there, but I’ve seen maybe 1 in the city in my life and I’ve never heard of them sharing people’s patio (furniture)

      • V HOPM
        2•1 year ago

        Yeah, population density makes a big difference. I grew up in Norway, and don’t think I ever saw a fox in the wild in 25 years, but in London it’s a regular occurrence. Especially in the suburbs, but I’ve once seen one dead centre of town too.