So you think one has to go to Africa to witness wild predator prey interactions? Ha, I say! Just go to central London. And, no I am not talking about the tube strike…..
Actually, we left Africa and flew to London on the first leg home to The Holler. We were looking forward to a spell of civilization and culture. But it seems, our safari was to continue in London. We checked into a hotel quite near the crowds and hustle of the British Museum, and I looked out our hotel window onto a city park, and this was the sight that greeted me!
There were four foxes in this family in the center of London. There were magpies too. Occasionally the foxes would snag a magpie which resulted in the magpies giving the foxes holy hell for hours. They would taunt and goad them.
I was supposed to be going to the British Museum with my hubby, but instead I sat for hours watching the foxes in the Duke of Bedford’s garden. No one was allowed to go in the garden, thank God, and my hotel window only opened about four inches, so there was considerable challenge getting these pics, but I was motivated! I live in Southern California and rarely get to see foxes so it is always a thrill.
It takes effort learning to hunt,
and can be quite exhausting.
Not to mention embarrassing, when the prey decides to become the predator!
And then there is mum to contend with. She can be such a nag….
But being almost a teenager, mum is starting to get an idea what she’s in for.
It’s nice to be a fox family in the Duke of Bedford’s garden,
if only there was a little more to eat.
Cheers to you from the London fox’s garden~
Share this:
Discover more from Cindy Knoke
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Amazing sights and photos from the big city!
It was hard for me to believe! I thought, thank you God, you kept me with the wild things!
Foxy London, ‘eh? 😀
Exactly! 😉
We get a lot of foxes…as our cities expand their territory decreases and they come into the cities for food. The problems begin when they start killing the pet cats!
Coyotes do that too, resulting in people hating them. Of course cats kill too, often for nothing more than fun. We can be a sort of illogical species at times can’t we? I know I can be! Laughing……
That’s amazing. Great shots!
I was surprised and not expecting them!
Ah, cute babies! I so hope someone feeds them – sure they can get plenty of rats, but they are growing… Is there any passage to get to the wild area? Hope their mama will guide them to a safer place one day.
God, they are near Russel Square, surrounded by city. I have no idea how they survive. Maybe someone who knows will tell us. I hope so~
Oh man, they are sure brought there. They wouldn’t come on their own, no way. Have to google.
Please let me know what you find out! This is a enclosed garden with no public access. I am seriously hoping they are protected…..
That’s amazing! Who would have thought in the heart of London! I live in a rural area of central California and we see foxes occassionally, but I’ve never been able to watch them the way you have or take those kinds of photos. What a treat!
It really was uncanny to me coming from Africa and expecting a bit of London TLC, and seeing this each day. I was thrilled!
What a surprise and beautifully captured.
Thanks & cheers too!
What a blessing to watch these beautiful little characters at play. Ty for sharing.
Thank you more for recognizing both their play & their beauty!
You are amazing! I saw a fox the other day crossing the street late at night as I was driving back…but hardly get to see this kind of interactions! thanks for sharing your passion with us 🙂
That has been typical for me all my life, glimpses of foxes and wanting more. This changed in Channel Islands National Park, where I first saw foxes close up, and went back for more. These are tiny foxes, unique to the islands. This was the first time I spent really up close and personal time observing and photographing foxes. I didn’t get as close to the London foxes, but I spent many hours over days observing them, and I was fully hooked. I am so grateful you appreciate them!
I did and thank you for sharing your observation with us …especially for those of us who don’t have a chance to see that in real life <3 It is appreciated! Have a wonderful weekend my friend
You too, you are a real pleasure to know my friend! <3
They are very, very cat-like! A truly gorgeous little creature. I feel like hugging one, but, of course these are royalty so I will be proper!
Yes, you’d be bettter of hugging the Duke. Well maybe not, I haven’t met him…..laughing!
Reblogged this on Art, animals, and the earth.
Abrazos always my kind friend! <3
Your post made me smile, Cindy. Just coming off of an African safari, we are so adept at watching wildlife, that it seems to be in more places than ever before. I remember stopping in London en route to Calif. after a safari. It was pouring rain and where do we find ourselves? Looking in the window of a travel agent at safari photos! The foxes here are truly beautiful, what a lovely treat for you. 🙂
So funny and so true. We saw London safari photos everywhere! I also notice my weeks in Africa have improved my photography. It’s hard to get good shots in Africa because of intervening brush, regulations, the behavior of herding wild animals etc. So, I was much better prepared for photographing clear, clean telephoto shots of foxes in a clipped British garden, even though I was four floors up, shooting through a four inch gap in a bolted window. It seemed easier than Africa! Laughing…….it is so much fun photographing the wild ones isn’t it my friend!
😀 😀
Such lovely little animals. Beautiful photos as always 🙂
Awwww, so pleased you like them!
We have friends in Manchester and they’re always capturing fabulous fox photos! These are really sweet, and missing the New England red fox, I can actually smell the breath of these creatures you’ve photographed with their mouths open!
Have you actually smelled a foxes breath? I haven’t and I am fascinated! Your friends are so lucky. I have seen one fox at The Holler. They are rare sights for me.
Cindy, yes I have! Wildlife centers in the contiguous states have such creatures. I’ve also held and smelled a baby tiger’s breath. So fun, but honestly, I’d rather see these animals in the wild. We are collectively removing ourselves so very far from awe in favor of attempting to quell fear. Which is its own philippic, for sure 😉
Yes, I have had my hands licked by lion cubs at the SD Zoo which was pretty incredible and met mama too, but I too prefer to see them in the wild. I choose awe over fear everytime at least with wild things!
I can see you were highly motivated 🙂 I would have skipped the museum too. Great shots of the family life of these foxes!
They were pretty amazing to watch at least for me. All the entertainment I need!
That was so incredibly precious! Thank you for sharing those pictures! I would totally sit and watch them, too! Adorable!
The bonds between the four family members were so strong. I was struck by it!
Nice shots, Cindy. Actually last night I watched a doco on the gardens at Buckingham Palace and now this from London too – what a treat – love foxes – their “permanent smile”, which of course I don’t trust to get too close to 😀 😀 😀
I hear the squirrels at Buckingham are tame and a blogger friend of mine Graham in Hats posted about them if I remember correctly. I’m heading back to Europe in November, this time to Slovakia and Hungary as well as Germany. This is a last minute thing my husband just booked. I want to see much more of Eastern Europe. I have roots there! Cheers to you my friend and wonderful to hear from you! <3
Who knew you could have a safari from a hotel room in London. The foxes are adorable.
I certainly did not! 😉
Those are charming pictures. Thank you for making the effort through you small window-opening. I’m glad the UK provided you with some wildlife. An hour north of London we have foxes (but don’t see them), magpies which we would gladly give away – they make such an infernal racket all day and steal all the small bird eggs – entertaining squirrels that mess with our flower tubs and our personal hedgehog. We feed the hedgehog and watch him by torchlight most nights.
Oh hedgehogs are so beguiling. Your place sounds wonderful. Magpies certainly are assertive birds aren’t they. We don’t have them, so I find them quite handsome and intriguing!
Wow wow how amazing! In the centre of London too! I also would have given up the museum for the foxes. Great photos Cindy, especially considering the limitations you had.
Alison
This is one of the best things about travel isn’t it Alison, the constant arrival of the unexpected?
Fantastic shots! Yes, it’s amazing how many “safaris” we can find away from Africa. 🙂
Each one wonderful in it’s own right!
Too often people are going far away without noticing the treasures in their own surroundings. (Pity or a shame.)
Yes! You are so right. And I am guilty of this too, because I wish, but I can’t, see everything. Would that we all could. <3
We do have many urban foxes around in London, Around my neighbourhood too in East London. I see them often! As there is so much rubbish they always find enough to eat out there!
Well that is good to know! Not that eating garbage sounds particularly good, but it is eating!
Foxes are one of my most favourite animals, although many in urban areas like London may disagree with me and call them a nuisance. However, I am from the country originally and so, I love foxes. It is a treat to see them so at home and relaxed, almost as though they were in the middle of some wilderness rather than London! It is a cheeky glimpse into a hidden world you managed to capture, and its great to see!! Fab photos Cindy, and many thanks for posting!
So happy you see foxes as I do my friend. They are intelligent, elusive, handsome animals, with strong canine characteristics and they play constantly!
Yes, they most definitely are all of those things. Its a shame this is often overlooked by so many. Thanks again for posting, I truly loved the photos Cindy!!
<3
I guess you find wild life wherever you go. Beautiful photos, Cindy.
I hope so, but I never did see the coyote in NYC! Maybe I should go back…. 😉
So cute. You got great shots from your window, Cindy! 🙂
Hotels have these window lock rules due to insurance regulations regarding suicide and fall prevention. Once in Switzerland, the hotel manager unlocked the window for me, but stood in observation while I took photos of the Alps!
Oh my, foxes are stunning – but in London??? WOW. I never would have thought!! I didn’t get to see them when i was there 🙁 Nevertheless, they are such amazing animals – remind me of Fox and the Hound! haha
xx Roxanne
thelemonandjar.com
They are such entertaining animals to watch, so playful and mischevious!
In the seventies I lived in London where I saw more wild animals than in Ferring (Worthing, the South coast of England) were I lived before going to London. In Chiswick I did not see them in our garden but in Wandsworth it was lovely to see how they came in the garden asking for their plate.
Also in Brussels (Belgium) there are some foxes daring to come into peoples kitchen, though where I live know in Leefdaal, between Brussels and Leuven, they only seem to be likened as prey for the hunters who do not love my dog running free in the fields.
Aww they are super cute, nice pictures ! I think I would have stayed over there as well 😀
Wild critters of any sort will grab my complete attention. They always have!
How lucky you were! Super shots of these little ones. We have many foxes here, but I mostly see them lying dead along the road to my work. Envious a bit…
That’s sad. Are they hit by cars or do people kill them on purpose?
No, they are hit by cars. The two last years we have been rid of the sarcoptic mange and the foxes have all looked great with thick furs and magnificent tails – so seeing them dead is not what we want…
No, that is very sad. There is a blogger who studies foxes in Switzerland. He takes some incredible fotos…..
Excellent series! Great story!
Very pleased you enjoyed my friend and thanks~
They have a high mortality rate in the UK due to highways, hunts, and farmers. Cute little guys. We had one at our Denver suburb backdoor. Babies and small dogs beware.
Yes, they similar but not as aggressive as coyotes!
Wow! These are amazing photos, many thanks for sharing them. Though I live in the UK I had not realised that there were so many foxes in London. I live in a semi rural area and rarely see one. How anyone can hunt these animals is beyond my comprehension.
Yes, or hate them. How can you hate any animal? They just do what they need to do to survive, unlike humans who often kill for incredibly stupid reasons.
schönen Sonntag, beste Grüße, Klaus
Froliche Sonntag mein Freund! <3
Welcome to London, Cindy and glad to see you’ve met our charming, if noisy foxes. I live in the east of the city and regularly see foxes walking around the neighborhood at night, both adults and cubs. The way they watch you for a few seconds and then flee into the shadows is very mysterious, as well as entertaining.
Have a wonderful trip.
Vijay
You are the third east ender who mentioned lots of foxes! How lovely to have them there and what fun to watch these elusive beauties! I think all the city parks must have something to do with these urban clusters……
I enjoyed this post. We have foxes, but they stay under cover in the woods and are rarely seen. I have never seen a magpie in person…they are quite beautiful. I wish they were also native to the US.
People seem to not be too keen on magpies, but to me they are interactive, assertive and wonderful. But then I only see them when I travel, as we have no natives either. I play with them when I see them where I am staying, and they bring me twigs and other gifts. Love them!
What fun! Foxes were sly devils where I grew up in Kansas and of course not welcome on a cattle ranch. However they were not as vicious as coyote. I noted the coyote are invading the city streets more often and they are becoming more desperate as we build into their habitat.
We have packs of them at The Holler. At first I didn’t like them because I was quite afraid of them due the the numbers of the packs, and because the coyotes didn’t accept a new human home in their territory. Plus we had no fence so they came right up to us. They challenged us and it was spooky. Now we accept each other. We have fencing and they respect our space. They accept our presence and visa versa. But, there is no press here for space. No situation where I intrude on them as there are thousands of empty acres they can retreat in. It is a different scenario in a more densely packed urban environments where the coyotes are struggling to survive. We do have free range cattle here though, and the coyotes do take down calves, and calves being delivered which is horrendous to hear. But the cows are left too much on their own. They need some donkeys. Donkeys do not tolerate coyotes. It is hilarious to watch donkeys chase off coyotes. I would love to have a couple donkeys. I wish the cattle man would get a couple……
It would make sense for the cattlemen to get donkeys. I didn’t know about the donkeys keeping them away. That seems such a simple solution. Humm – wonder how many donkeys dad would have needed for 2,000 acres of pasture?
Laughing. It would be better than what the cattleman has in place now which is exactly nothing. Donkeys and mules have a powerful dislike of coyotes, so do several dog species like Great Pyrenees, but since he can’t take care of his cattle, I doubt he would take care of his donkeys or dogs. But I have seen donkeys with coyotes, they are so relentless it is almost comical! They have lethal intentions!
Still on safari in central London Cindy. That is amazing. Are they actually fenced in?
I am home now, writing about the end of the trip in late May. They were not fenced at all, free to come and go which they did.
Going safari back home now with the hummers and coyotes!!!!
Excellent photos Cindy. I can’t believe that you saw foxes in central London! We lived in London for three years and the biggest wild animal we saw was a squirrel. I also can’t believe that you were able to get such great, spontaneous photos. I’ve attempted nature photography and know how much patience (or luck) that good photos take. Well done. ~James
What lovely comments! Thank you. I was blown away by the fox family. It was probably the last thing I expected to see and it filled me with awe because I was missing Africa, but the message seemed to be, wild things are everywhere!
It’s not just on the Holler where you can see stuff, you know!! We used to love all our wildlife in London, although I don’t ever remember seeing a humming bird!! cheers 🙂
Laughing, as I sit here trying to count the hummers. I give up at 25. London does have so many parks, But still catty-corner to the British Musuem? A family of four foxes? Playing everyday? I was captivated!
Even foxes can be so cute…. 🙂
Yes indeed, all creatures great and small!
True… 🙂 thank you….
Love love love the foxes
Oh good! I love fox lovers! <3
How fascinating that they were all there on the ground playing together, fox and birds. Except when one got hungry. What a grand nature preserve.
A little bit of country life smack dab in the center of London Town!
I was sitting in my enclosed porch yesterday on a beautiful 70 degree day. Two different flocks of turkeys came and ate my lettuce. And I thought it was the bunnies!
I love watching wild turkeys especially the chicks, but I don’t know if I would love watching them eat my lettuce! 😉
Nicely caught. Foxes can be so tricksy. 🙂
Frisky too! 🙂
Beautiful photos… somehow I think they are well fed!
I hope you are right! The parents looks skinny, but the kits looked healthy~
You find the wildlife wherever you go!
I love it! <3
We were in London for the first time last year and all we saw were castles and more castles. I spent a lot of time on the trains. I wish I had known about the park.
Yes, the first time you hit a city, you view all the major landmarks. This usually leaves you in somewhat of an overload situation. I try to schedule down days where I just putter around. This is often where I find the off the beaten track stuff, with no crowds. It is nice to get a balance of both!
You seem to find a safari in any part of the world!
Yay! I hope it keeps up~ 🙂
Hi Cindy good to see you.. as you probably know I haven’t been around for a while its been hard to get here…to long to explain..but I will not be here again for awhile..so I must re-blog some of your beautiful works..the first one I saw… I said to myself oh boyyyyyyyy how beautiful.. and then I saw you leave africa.. how rotten some people are…
Godbless sweetie
Sherri
I have missed you Sherri and hope everything is okay with you. Take good care of yourself my friend and blessings to you too! Hope to chat with you more when you have the time. <3 <3
Thank you so much for your sweet…My has the big c and just came out of remission…that was only 4 mos ago..so I won’t be here as much…your so nice Cindy and so nice to have a a friend..
huggs
Sherri
Oh no! I am so sorry! So scary and way too much of this now affecting everyone. Who came out of remission? You, or “my” who???? Oh, Sherri, thoughts and prayers are flying your way….. <3 <3
Cindy, beautiful, hope you went to the museum too, which is spectacular. Hugs! Veraiconica
It is spectacular, you are right!
Amazing!
I was pretty amazed by them too!