Eric the Fox checks out the latest info on hunting foxes in Shooter mag with his mate Eddie.
I am a full time feral animal trapper in WA and run my own business called Feral Invasive Species Eradication Management.(FISEM).
Most of my work is contract work for different government agencies and some private contracts.
I tend to specialise in fox control and fox behaviour in the wild and do give information forums to farmers in the country on better fox control.
I have done this work for 35 years + now and still enjoy it; there’s not much I don’t know about foxes.
I have been in contact with a few people in Tasmania in the past 12 months regarding the fox ghosts you have there: Ivan Dean, David Obendorf, Craig Elliott at the fox control HQ.
I also think my name was thrown around parliament not long ago. Ivan Dean was trying to get an independent Fox activity Assessment done in Tasmania and I was going over to do that if they wanted me to. As yet nothing has come up in that regard.
I think the way that the fox group is going now is a step forward in regard to including all feral animals; I am sure that they have accumulated a lot of useful information over the years to go forward.
Australia has many unique native animals and we must do what we can to protect them. There is absolutely no place in our environment for Foxes and Feral Cats.
That’s enough boring information about me; now Eric’s story. I have had more than one pet fox over the years but will just stick with Eric. He was trapped at 5 weeks old in a caged box trap as these are the traps I use when I am fitting radio transmitter collars on foxes for research purposes.
I decided to keep him for my research into fox behaviour as there is no better way than with a live tame fox.
I would spend at least 3 hours a day with him; just me and him. There is no doubt these animals are extremely intelligent and can outwit most people. They really are forward thinkers and that’s the reason they are survivors in any environment.
Eric was an amazing animal in every way; every day for 18 months he would go where ever I went; every day.
He would let most people touch him but was very alert and did not take his eyes off them for a second. If he did not like you, you were in the danger zone and he would not hesitate to bite you.
If you harmed him or stirred him up or was a threat to him he would never forget. My wife stirred him up once and three days later she had a perfect set of teeth marks on her bottom; you had to be there to enjoy the moment.
We had many amazing moments with this fox and I would just sit and watch him for hours in the back yard.
I have large amounts of information that can only be accessed this way about these amazing animals and use this for my work.
I have been approached to publish a book on Living with a Fox; and have also been called the original fox whisperer by many people in the field. I will do the book but not until I have raised a female fox (ERICA) this breeding season, as I am sure there are many differences in their behaviour patterns.
What happened to Eric:
Unfortunately Eric is not with us anymore. As Eric matured he became more independent as wild foxes do and wanted to lead a more solitary life and be free.
The last few weeks were very hard for me as I became very attached to him … but his natural male aggressiveness was becoming very strong and he almost had no time for me except at feed times.
He was getting dangerous and unpredictable at 20 months old and had to be euthanazed.
A very sad day for me … not just because he had to go but also the fact that most people couldn’t understand how I could get attached to a fox.
The fact is you had to be there with him every day – almost living like a fox – to appreciate the connection; he was doing what came naturally to him to survive in the wild and that did not include me.
I am looking forward to Erica as I think the females may be more tolerant … but I wont hold my breath
I did approach a few zoos in Australia in relation to setting up Fox displays for Eric … but unfortunately all said a good fox is a dead fox; a sad and uncaring thing to say .
All living things have a place in this world ,don’t you think … ?
