meezers Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 I thought I had misheard when this came on the news this morning- I thought they must have said a FOX TERRIER had attacked the babies, because , like some of you are saying, since when would a fox go upstairs, find a baby in it's cot and attack not just one baby, but two? I'm pleased I'm not the only one who thinks maybe my first thought was the right one, and maybe it was the family dog that did it- has there been any mention of the family having a pet dog ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WitchHazel Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 . How do they know it was a fox? From what I've read so far, the fox wasn't seen in the house, so it is just presumed to be a fox.. According to the report on the BBC website, the fox was still in the bedroom when the mum went in. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/10251349.stm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meezers Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 Listening to the 'expert' on the BBC site, he's only heard of 2 fox attacks in 40 (?) years, one turned out to be a cat, the other a German Shepherd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlottechicken Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 According to the report on the BBC website, the fox was still in the bedroom when the mum went in. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/10251349.stm Thank you! I hadn't seen or heard that on any of the news reports I've come across, now I'm no longer sceptical A lesson for everyone in an urban fox area then. I wouldn't have thought a fox would wander through a house like that, especially if they have a dog. Hope the children recover fully though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docsquid Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 I have to join the sceptical brigade here. Like many others, my cats have seen off foxes and they are generally pretty scaredy-cats too. My suspicion is that this was the family dog (which may or may not be an illegal type under the DDA), and they are covering up for it in a misguided attempt to avoid it being destroyed. I may be wrong. What really matters is that these little children recover, and they they aren't put in any further danger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiggy Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 I did see a pic once of a fox curled up ontop of a pile of towels in someones bathroom but it seems odd that this one is supposed to have attacked the babies. I heard a wild life expert on the radio this morning say it was so out of character for a fox to do this, he said it may have been one of thiis years cubs. Even he said that he had 2 cases that were blamed on foxes & that they both turned out to be domestic pets that had injuried children Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 Well,as they have caught said fox,at least they will be able to tell if it was indeed responsible for the attacks. I guess it may have skin under its claws,or DNA on it,or something (yes,I do watch C.S.I !!!) Also experts will be able to tell what sort of animal made the injuries on the little girls,won't they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C&T Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 Also experts will be able to tell what sort of animal made the injuries on the little girls,won't they? Would have thought so.... (BUt then I watch a lot of CSI too!!) I know people are saying it is unlikely for a fox to come in the house - but I know urban foxes are so "tame" now that that doesn't surprise me at all, and they enter houses regularly. Plus without knowing the layout of the house, it is hard to know how easy/hard it would have been for the fox to avoid the people/dog There is always a first time for everything - TBH I would prefer to believe this is true, then believing the mother would be covering up for a family pet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiggy Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 our cat chased a young fox out of our house a few weeks ago, it had been helping itself to the cat food the cats had it cornered in the hall before it ran out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scarlettohara Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 I'm with Chuckymama on this. If it's true, it's awful. But it just sounds so unlikely. I know foxes do occasionally come into houses, I heard of one fox which stole shoes. But it sounds really odd that it should come in, go upstairs, find the kids, and then attack them. There has to be more to it than that? We have a fox that steals shoes - I found one of mine recently on a dog walk Back on topic though - if they didn't have a dog surely someone would confirm that these babies had puncture wounds that weren't presumably inflicted by the parents Just read through and see that that's the general consensus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 I think it said somewhere that they had just had a BBQ, I would have thought that would have provided rich pickings for the foxes. I don't know where in East London they are but I am not sure I would leave a back door open at 10pm. As previously stated though, I really hope that the children pull through this and that they are kept safe from whatever it was that caused these injuries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 I did think it sounded odd when I saw it on the news - they had an expert on there that said it was off for a fox to do something like this, and with a dog in the house its a bit odd. I did think they'd be able to tell what had bitten them, or from fox hairs in the cot/bedroom They said they saw the fox in the bedroom, but then no mention of what happened to it next ... The neighbours did say the foxes were a bad problem locally though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronze Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 The odd bit for me is that it seems th ebabies were in seperate cots yet it attacked them both before the parents realised something was going on Apart from that I would believe an urban fox might possibly attack a small baby (just about believe) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welovemarmite Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 yes i was wondering, if the fox attacked one, wouldnt it get scared by the crying and run off before it attacked the second.....it would be slightly more plausible if just one was attacked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadietoo Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 Agree with other postings here...it all seems somewhat suspicious and I am not convinced by the mother's version of events... those poor little girls though...... let's hope they make a full recovery (and presumably at just nine months they will remember nothing of the attack) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foreveryoung Posted June 8, 2010 Author Share Posted June 8, 2010 I know most details in the media and exaggerated but after listening to the news I am starting to believe this story, Im sure if this was something else other then this fox, it would have been uncovered by now... they have just stated the one of the children are now in great ormond street. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hilda-and-evadne Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 According to the report on the BBC website, the fox was still in the bedroom when the mum went in. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/10251349.stm I am afraid that I still think the mother is covering up for the family pet, perhaps under pressure from the father or uncle or grandmother (thinking of other, earlier tragedies). When the mother says, in the Daily Mail http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1284973/Twin-baby-girls-mauled-fox-slept-suffered-life-changing-injuries-family-reveals.html that both she and her husband were screaming, and the "fox" did not even leave the room, I thought: a dog might hold its ground like that that but a fox certainly would not. That Daily Mail article on the link has an aerial photo of the house - look how far the fox would have had to go to find the children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 Does anyone know the breed of their dog. I can't seem to find mention of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 I know most details in the media and exaggerated but after listening to the news I am starting to believe this story, Im sure if this was something else other then this fox, it would have been uncovered by now... they have just stated the one of the children are now in great ormond street. I agree - I did think it was odd at first but since reading and watching reports on this it seems a lot of people have had problems with foxes entering houses in this area, The foxes seem to be quite bold and undeterred by human intervention. I hope the girls are OK and soon out of hospital. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronze Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 Having said that a fox would attack an entire flock of chickens bu tmight only take away one or two so maybe they do attack for other reasons too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whoopsie Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 Some annimals will unfortunately attack for unknown reasons - recent local news here has been a CROW attacking women (blondes, it appears) and a violent SQUIRREL! Granted it's an unusual case but not impossible. I got attacked by a squrrel myself - as did an RSPCA inspector trying to rescue the injured dog I found. we couldn't believe it!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 S and a violent SQUIRREL! I was terrorised by a violent squirrel once ......it went nuts Seriously,it came into our villa at Centerparcs & hissed & spat at me like a mad thing.It was very frightening. I had to wave a broom at it to get it out,shut the patio door...where it continued to glare at me through the glass for ages I told reception, & she said that they had had problems with a couple of rogue ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronze Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 I was terrorised by a violent squirrel once ......it went nuts is there a groan smilie for worst pun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 (edited) I thought it fishy at first, but my folks are plagued by bold foxes - the foxes are fed by an old lady down the road They have to keep their doors closed. I have seen a fox take a new lamb or two before now, but to go that far into a house seems odd. Edited June 10, 2010 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 It seems a police officer took a photo of the fox http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/10276286.stm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...