The Foxes Who Call Our Garden Home

How these urban based cheeky chappies make me feel more connected to the wild

Hello there lovely person, I’m Vicky Wren and I run Wren and the Wild. Britain is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world so I use illustration, film, photos and words to enjoy, explore and encourage the protection and rewilding of our wonderful British Isles. Subscribe for free to enjoy monthly newsletters and in between posts from Edinburgh and the land and water beyond. You can also find me on YouTube, Instagram and my digital nature connection printables are over on Etsy.

I’ve wanted to write about the foxes who live in our garden for a long time as their presence forms such a connection for me with a wilder side of our great outdoors. For most of their existence, these wild animals called heathland, wetlands and woodland home. However, over time they’ve had to adapt to live in farmland and the streets and gardens of urban areas as us humans expanded our agricultural fields and housing estates into their domains.

My partner and I have lived in our current place for nearly a decade now and from day one, the skulk of foxes that called our garden and the surrounding gardens home, played a big part in why we fell in love with where we live. As we watch them slip through our garden, sunbathe under the big hedge at the back or look on in delight as their tiny cubs play tag with each other, we feel lucky that these undomesticated creatures live so close to us.

They’ve generally been quite unafraid of us humans (and our cats!) - to the point where one once nipped inside our back door and ran off with a pair of my sandals! I was close by and saw that as the fox sprinted off they dropped one sandal but managed to dash off with the other one. I searched under many a hedge to try and find it. I had no luck but I did discover a whole host of other shoes of all descriptions - from a glittery red platform shoe to trainers and everything in-between! Who knew foxes had a shoe fetish?!

In an article in the Irish Examiner, Dr Michelle McKeown talks about how foxes have had to adapt as urbanisation has encroached on the natural spaces that they would have called home. She writes about why they have shoe hoarding tendencies and how it’s part of a larger trend of wildlife adapting to urban environments:

‘As we continue to share our spaces with wildlife, understanding their behaviour helps us to coexist more harmoniously - even if it means occasionally losing a shoe or two. In the end, these incidents remind us that even in the heart of our cities, nature is never too far away - and sometimes, it’s right on our doorstep.’

I think that hits the nail on the head for me. I’m aware that for various reasons, navigating living side by side has led to tensions between some wildlife and humans. Within the context of being a resident in one of the top ten most populated cities within Britain however, being able to observe and slightly understand this dog-like member of our wildlife helps to provide that much needed daily connection to nature. And as McKeown mentions, I do hope that through further study and sharing our spaces we can increase our understanding of foxes and wildlife in general and learn coexist with them more harmoniously. Side note - my new sandals are now kept in a very different part of my home!

With love and wild hope,