Sir, – Further to Frank McNally’s astute observations regarding the new-found confidence – even effrontery – of the urban fox (An Irishman’s Diary, April 20th), I too note both their increasing prevalence and confidence. When out walking in the evening, it is not uncommon to see two to three foxes these days – though from a greater distance than he mentions.
Spending much of each year in San Francisco, I cannot help but note the similarities with the urban raccoon in California. In much the same way as the Irish foxes, these creatures of the night are often to be seen abroad, foraging and hunting, after the sun has gone down, even in the heart of the city, and far from their perceived natural environment.
In both cases, one is presented with a remarkable and important reminder that even in the urban, metropolised, über-technical era in which we live, we are only very thinly separated, and insulated, from the wildness of nature – and its animals – which even the most modern and developed European or American cities cannot keep entirely at bay. – Yours, etc,