It is hard enough for wild creatures to survive under normal conditions but many of them are struggling even more today due to the loss of their habitat to humans. Hunger has made their struggle easier to witness, especially with shy predators like the red fox. These creatures are normally nocturnal but their search for food has forced them to become more visible during the day. Soon after I moved into Frog Hollow, a fox made her presence known. At that time, I had a red Siberian Husky named Caraminka (Minka). Sometimes when Minka was outside the fox would sound off just a little to close to my house for my comfort level and I inevitably would whistle for Minka to come home. However, if Minka was inside and the fox sounded off then she always wanted to go outside. It did not take me long to figure out that these two had some kind of relationship. So much so, that after this fox had two kits she brought them around the house – almost as if to show them off. The kits were adorable but after the initial reveal, I did not see much of them again. Several months later, Minka brought mange into our house, which both cats contracted and I ended up suffering from. In retrospect, I believe Minka contracted this condition to make me aware that our fox needed help.
Sarcoptic Mange is a skin disease caused by mites that burrow into an animal’s flesh and even though they cannot live on a human, they can still feed on us. Mange weakens the animal’s immune system and causes fur loss. If the condition strikes in the winter then an animal can freeze to death. Many articles claim mange outbreaks are directly attributable to over population. However, I disagree for two reasons:
- For the most part, there is no way to determine the actual numbers for many wildlife species. Studies seem to reflect human activities cause the numbers to fluctuate. Therefore, I tend not to trust any reports because I cannot reconcile the very great possibility that many wildlife species in the past may have ended up on endangered species lists due to claims of overpopulation. Not to mention, Mother Nature in her infinite wisdom does not produce more of any particular animal species than the land can support. I have lived at Frog Hollow for twenty-one years and have never seen more than three to four foxes on a little less than 6 acres during this time.
- My experience as a holistic practitioner has shown that most every disease has more to do with the lack of good nutrition, which weakens the immune system and opens the door to contracting a variety of diseases. (See the feline leukemia natural treatment article for more about how food and supplements saved the life of my stray kitten given days to live.)
The initial mange outbreak had me carting all of my animals to their local veterinarian to receive injections of “Ivermectin” along with deep cleaning every inch of my house. There were several additional mange infestations before realizing I was fighting a no win battle. The fox needed to be treated but the vet would not dispense this drug for them. I decided to try to locate an alternative route rather than continue subjecting my critters to harsh drugs that might compromise their organs and cause complications down the road. I came up with “Sulphur” which is a homeopathic remedy used to treat all kinds of skin disorders including mange. I tried it on my animals and then began mixing the remedy into a small amount of food, which I placed at the mouth of the fox den several times per day. It proved successful for all.
The mother fox continued to come and go for many years. She also began to respond to the whistle used to call my dog. There were many times when l whistled for Minka and after she had come in the fox would sound off around my house within minutes. During the winter months, I would sometimes leave a meal outside for her or would wait to hear her voice before taking something out. Feeding did not occur on a regular basis because I was raised to believe we should not interfere with nature. Therefore, I did not want her to become dependent on me and never fed her close to my house, but there were times when I heard her sound off right outside my door after she had eaten. I always believed this was her way of thanking me. Just as there were other times when she would sound off to let me know, she was hungry. I stopped hearing from the mother fox soon after my first pet loss and rites of passage teachings. To this day, I have not heard from her again, but her two full grown kits recently made their presence known.
About a month after rescuing Goose Lucy from the double trouble – fox team referenced in let nature take its course, the female fox disappeared. I thought something might have happened to her but continued to leave a barter meal out for the male to keep Lucy safe during the coldest winter months. Around the end of spring, I caught a glimpse of the female as the male ran by my window on three legs. He had injured his foot and could not put any weight on it. There was no way to treat his foot directly and taking him to a vet was out of the question, so I relied on my old stand-by. I began to feed him again and treated his foot with a mix of high quality cat food and a natural antibiotic called “Colloidal Silver.” His foot has since healed very well, and he has become much like his mother visiting me frequently. As time goes on, Reds the fox is becoming less shy and hangs with me from a distance but takes off if he sees or hears a stranger, which is a good thing. He has also recently begun responding to my whistle and just like Goose Lucy knows the sound of my car. 