A south Wexford fox, has no time for food waste! His handiwork shows a neatly dug hole where a turkey carcass had been buried.
A few days after Christmas and the organic turkey carcass has been well picked by family and visitors. It seemed like a good idea to dig a deep enough hole and bury the turkey’s meat-less mortal remains. However, a fox had other ideas. The next morning, a tidy mound of earth was to be seen and a hole where the turkey bones had been lain. Paw prints on the wet soil suggested a fox had paid a nocturnal visit and enjoyed a belated, Christmas dinner. The odd bit of turkey bone was all that remained of our Christmas dinner.
This was a lesson well learned. We should have known. The Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) uses its nose like humans use a GPS system. Overground or underground the fox can map an area better than most dogs. Not surprising then that the fox’s nose occupies most of its muzzle and contains over 200,000,000 scent receptors, which is about 40 times better than a human nose. I checked with some fox experts how deep I should have buried the turkey carcass. I’m told that no matter how deep chicken bones are buried, a fox will sniff them out.
Plan B for next year then is either to go vegetarian, or if the menu includes organic turkey, then the remaining boney carcass is better dried (an Aga would be handy for this) and the dried bones burned when a stove or fire is lighting. However, in a way, I don’t mind the fox getting the turkey bones. He or she has to eat. However,
I might not feel the same if the fox had taken a live chicken!
Trevor is co-founder and was, until his appointment to Government, a board member of Sonairte, the Irish National Ecology Centre, near Julianstown, County Meath which is an Agricultural Training and Visitor centre with a 2.2 acre walled organic garden. He is also a member of Amnesty International, the Dublin Food Co-op, the Irish Organic Farmers’ and Growers’ Association, Organic Trust and a former member of Macra na Feirme. A former teacher and fluent Irish speaker, he relaxes by reading, walking and playing music. His favourite form of relaxation is tending to his prolific organic garden at home in Balbriggan, North County Dublin, an area known by many as Fingal.
Source: Trevor’s Kitchen Garden – Fox Scavenges Belated Christmas Dinner – Trevor Sargent
