NARRATOR: On North America's
east coast,
one little creature
is living large.
Cute and cuddly,
fierce and wild,
red foxes
have made a home
on the back doorstep
of the human world.
On the jagged coast
of Canada's eastern shore,
a delicate and
diverse ecosystem
thrives on the fringes
of the continent.
Welcome to
the Wild Wild East.
Prince Edward Island.
Set in
the Gulf of St. Lawrence,
Canada's
smallest province
represents less than
one percent
of the nation's
landmass.
Its beaches
and rural beauty
make the Island
a popular destination
for tourists
from across Canada
and the rest
of the world.
Charlottetown is
the province's capital.
Here over the past
two decades,
one wild animal
has abandoned
the Island's rolling fields
for the luxuries
of the city life.
Red foxes live
side by side with humans.
Where there's people,
there's food.
And although PEI may be
Canada's smallest province,
it's also its most
densely populated.
Foxes have also
made good use
of man-made
infrastructure.
In recent years,
dens have begun popping up
all over the Island.
Sheds and
decks provide
a perfect cover for
foxes looking to hide.
These man-made structures
bring foxes
a little too close
to people's homes.
Many locals see the fox
as a nuisance.
Some have even taken
the issue into their own hands,
trapping and killing
bothersome foxes.
But for the fox,
there's high reward
for high risk.
These sly little creatures
have grown adept
at evading
the human predator.
Like it or not,
foxes have
staked a claim here
in Charlottetown's
backyard.
Across the Island,
one family has
taken up residency
right here
along the beach.
It may not look like much
for waterfront property,
but it's a perfect home
to one family,
or skulk,
of red foxes.
Hidden amongst
the brush and sand
is the family's
front door step.
Here, for the next
several weeks,
adult mature foxes
will live amongst
their newly born young,
until the kits
are fully grown.
It's the beginning
of spring
and these fox kits are
just a couple of months old.
They were born deaf,
blind and toothless,
and have
a long way to go
until they strike out
on their own.
Until that day,
they require
almost constant
parental supervision.
Mom is the centre
of the fox family.
Keeping an eye out
for her kits
and protecting
the den.
While dad spends
the day hunting,
mom's top priority for
the next several months
is rearing up
her pups.
Thankfully,
mom has some help
from another
adult female fox.
She's the kit's
older sister,
but really
she's more like an aunt.
At the end
of last summer,
her brothers and sisters
went to find mates
and establish
their own territory.
But this aunt decided to
stay behind for the winter.
It was a hard winter
for the aunt.
The patch on her side
is a sign of mange.
The parasitic skin disease
is common with foxes.
It's extremely itchy
and can cause fur loss.
With her mange
now on the mend,
the aunt will look to begin
a family of her own,
once her little brothers and
sisters are all grown up.
Mom happily
accepts the help
of another female
adult fox.
These kits are
growing up nicely.
They're about
six weeks old,
and have already
shed their brown fur
for their distinctive
red coat.
All grown up,
foxes are about the size
of a small border collie,
weighing up to
nine kilograms.
Life is short
for the fox.
These kits will live up to
five years on average,
so there's
little time to waste.
The males
within the litter
will be looking
to find a mate
and establish
their own territory
by the end of
the summer.
Down on the beach,
the kits spot a surprise
mom's brought in from
the human world.
Trinkets like this
are a welcome relief
to the teething pups.
But of course these
artifacts are no match
for the fox's
scissor-like jaws.
These sharp molars in
the back of the fox's mouth
allow them to break up
and digest
bones and
tough meat.
These curious kits have
no problem digging up trouble,
that's for sure.
But, under Mom's
watchful eye,
the kits
are free to be kits.
It isn't hard to see
why some Island residents
are growing annoyed
with the foxes.
Many locals are walking
around with just one shoe.
As the tide crawls in,
and the day wears on,
the family moves up
from the beach.
For momma
and auntie fox,
it's a full time job
watching over
these hyperactive
young'uns.
This play fighting is more
than just fun and games.
These warriors-in-training
are practicing
the signature moves
of adult male foxes.
When protecting
their territory,
foxes will often
come to blows.
Foxes fight
on their hind legs.
They try to tower over
one another,
and then flank
their foes.
Even at this young age,
this fox fight club
determines what the social
"pecking order" will be
once these kits
reach maturity.
For now though,
the biggest fights
are over a sip
of mom's milk.
It may look crowded
under there,
but this litter of five kits
is about average.
It's not unusual for
a vixen to give birth
to over 10 baby foxes
in a single year.
With mom protecting
her kits at the den,
off goes dad
to hunt down
the family's next meal.
Both parents do their share
to take care of the kits
until they reach
maturity.
This couple's courtship began
over the winter months.
Huddled together
underground,
they welcomed their litter
with the coming of spring.
Foxes are generally
monogamous,
but not always.
Males may have
more than one mate.
But these foxes are united
by a common purpose.
Mom does her duty at the den
by protecting the kits,
and dad's responsible
for hunting,
and providing food.
In a field behind the University
of Prince Edward Island,
we catch up with
another group of foxes.
This skulk has made a home
just off the beaten path.
Only a month old,
these field foxes
are a few weeks younger
than their
waterfront cousins.
You can see they still have
their soft brown coats.
As they wait patiently
by the den,
daddy fox combs
his property for food.
He has been
marking his territory
by urinating
on the ground.
These "scent markings"
are a warning
to other foxes
to stay away.
The best times to forage
are in the early morning
or late evening.
It's cooler then and
there are fewer humans around.
Dad has made
this territory home
and laid claim
to all the food here.
In other words:
No trespassers allowed.
Suddenly, in the middle
of this fox's hunt,
an intruder
is heard.
As a final assertion
of his dominance,
dad sprays a scent marking
on the ground.
From the sidelines,
the kits watch closely.
It won't be long
until they'll need to
provide for themselves.
After a little
searching,
the hunt uncovers
a tasty meadow vole,
one of the fox's
favorite treats.
In the wild, small mammals,
birds and even insects
make up the bulk
of the foxes' diet.
Foxes are extremely
possessive of their food,
and will bury it away
in their dens,
or in caches they tag
with scent markings.
The sneaky
little creatures
are keen to quickly
hide food away
from other
nearby animals.
There's mouths
to feed back at the den,
and so
the dad provides.
Still getting used to
solid food,
this little kit can't decide
if he should eat this thing,
or play with it.
The tide coming
and going each day
offers a special protection
for our waterfront foxes.
Any intruders better
know how to swim.
Red foxes will dig dens into
the sides of hills, mountains,
slopes or simply
straight down
into the flat ground.
Dens are dug inward
at a 45 degree angle.
They are about the length
of three sofas.
Inside the den,
there are two main areas,
one for
food storage
and a spot where the foxes
can huddle together
during the long
winter months.
Something,
or someone
has spooked
the waterfront foxes
and so they're moving
to a new home
just down the beach.
Living close to humans poses
many threats to the fox.
Occupying multiple dens
is a sly evasion strategy.
The fox knows this territory
like the back of its paw.
Back at the field fox's den on
the other side of the Island,
this little kit spots
something delicious.
Looks like mom's got
a hold of a chicken dinner
to store away
for later.
Foxes' love for chicken
has been getting them
into trouble with farmers
for centuries.
Unaware of the feast
hiding back at the den,
these two kits
are practicing
sniffing out a meal
of their own.
Soon the foxes will begin
hunting and foraging
together
as a family.
So it's never
too soon to learn
the fox's
characteristic pounce.
This move
will come in handy
when the fox is
hunting out its own meals.
In a couple of weeks,
everyone will be responsible
for finding
his or her own food.
But for now at least,
most meals are on mom.
Kits nurse
for two months.
Foraging and hunting
are essential skills
the foxes
must master
before they're
fully independent.
Foxes reach adulthood
by seven months.
With his siblings
still on the bottle,
this guy experiments
with solid food.
Behind his family's back,
our little chicken poacher
lives up to
his reputation.
It may be a cliché,
but that doesn't mean
it's not delicious.
But alas, his secret
is short lived,
and the other kits
run to find out
what their little brother's
gotten into.
Back along the beach,
these waterfront foxes
have switched
to a new den,
but their second home
is no further
from the watchful eye
of humans.
While there are
a lot of perks
to living side-by-side
with people,
it also presents
a danger.
People have been hunting
the red fox for sport
since medieval times.
During the Renaissance,
it became a noble pursuit,
and dogs were
bred specifically
to run down
and kill foxes.
Foxes are hunted
primarily for their fur
and their bushy tails
have been considered
a hunters trophy
for centuries.
Living close to humans
has made the red fox
an easy target
of derision.
Attitudes toward
the animal vary
throughout time
and between cultures.
Foxes may be
a nuisance,
but many Islanders
enjoy the fluffy little beasts.
Currently
on the Island,
hunting and trapping foxes
is still practiced,
albeit highly
regulated.
Today, humans remain
the fox's greatest predator.
With the summer months
approaching,
and the kits progressing
toward maturity,
it's likely this aunt
will move on
to establish
her own family.
Though groups of foxes
may share a territory,
the foxes tend to
stick to themselves.
Here on the Island,
where food is abundant,
there's less competition
for land.
Still, they hunt
and forage alone,
and with the exception of mating
and raising their young,
they spend the majority
of their lives
surviving
on their own.
And so springtime is
a special time of year,
when the typically
solitary creatures
are united by
a common purpose,
raising
their young
and ensuring the survival
of their species.
Nobody knows exactly
how many foxes
live here on
Prince Edward Island today.
Researchers
are watching 50 dens
in and around
Charlottetown alone.
Those are just the ones
we know about.
The University of
Prince Edward Island
has been studying the foxes
over the last few years.
They put out a call
to the community
to track
fox sightings.
In two years
they received
over 2,500 reports.
Like it or not,
the fox
is here to stay on
Prince Edward Island.
Across the world
and throughout history,
foxes have lived
at the frontier
between
the human world,
and the untamed
wilderness.
They star in so many
folk stories
and fairy tales
because they're clever
and cunning,
graceful and sly.
Foxes have one foot
in our world,
and one in
the Wild Wild East.
♪ THEME MUSIC ♪
