By James Russ
Red foxes aren’t a unusual to see on the streets of Cheltenham, but ones that don’t immediately run away at the sight of a human is certainly rare. A docile fox has been spotted on Tom Price Close befriending and following pets and even being fed directly from local resident’s hands.
James Walford is one such resident whose dog Jean has befriended the fox, which he has called “Bingo”, named after the gambling website “Foxy Bingo”.
He said “Jean loves them, she will sit there and scramble on the window and he [Bingo] will scramble back!”
This begs the question whether urban foxes are becoming tamer?
James certainly thinks so, he said “I think its obvious they are domesticating themselves, like dogs”
He added “I think we should encourage them to live in the area… we created this environment for them, which is so rich in food sources and foraging and hiding places so we should take responsibility for them living here and look after them and protect them.”
There are an estimated 150,000 urban foxes living throughout the UK. The Birmingham & Black Country Wildlife trust advise that while it is fine to feed foxes, you should do it from a distance and you should not try to tame them or feed them by hand.
