Foxes in the Park

In the spring, a family of foxes moved into the city park. They made their den under an old tree near the children's playground, and soon everyone was talking about them.

The foxes were beautiful. The mother had a long red tail and a white chest, and her three young foxes played in the grass every evening. People stopped to take photos of their tiny paws and long whiskers.

But not everyone was happy. Some people were worried about their cats. Others said the foxes were dirty because they looked for food in the rubbish bins. A few people wanted to feed them, and they left bread and meat near the tree every night.

The city asked a woman from the wildlife centre to speak at a meeting. She explained that foxes are usually shy and avoid people. "The problem is not the foxes," she said. "The problem is our rubbish and the food we leave out. If they get used to people, they stop being afraid of them, and that can be dangerous for the foxes."

She gave three simple rules: don't feed them, don't touch them, and close your bins at night. She also reminded everyone that the park belonged to many animals, not just foxes: squirrels in the trees, a hedgehog in the bushes, an owl that hunted at night and a crow with a nest on the lamp post all lived there too.

People followed the rules, and by autumn the young foxes had grown up and left. The park felt a little empty without them.

A city is not only our home. It is home to many other neighbours too.