Fox kit found dead near boardwalk den, likely killed by aggressive dog says Toronto Wildlife Centre

Erin Horrocks-Pope May 22, 2020

The Toronto Wildlife Centre reported that a fox kit was found dead in the Beach on the weekend of May 16.

Though unconfirmed by the Toronto Wildlife Centre, there has been speculation that the kit was a member of the fox family living under the boardwalk east of Woodbine Beach.

The news was announced on the Twitter account of the Toronto Wildlife Centre on the morning of May 22.

“Sadly a fox kit was found dead at the Beaches last weekend. The wounds suggested the kit was killed by a larger predator – likely an aggressive dog since the body was left behind.”

The Toronto Wildlife Centre is asking that dogs are kept on leashes and people continue to avoid the den.

The fox family has been bringing people from across the city since the den was discovered in April and has become an international story after being featured in a New York Times story on May 18.

Erwin Buck is a local photographer whose photographs of the foxes have been very popular.

“I watched a lady trying to take a selfie with the fox in the background,” Buck said to Catherine Porter of the New York Times. “People have been locked up and this is the first excitement they’ve seen.”

(A fox kit peeks out from under the boardwalk on May 06, 2020.)

As the fox family began being featured across Toronto’s mainstream media, more and more people began coming to try their luck at getting a good picture.

The City of Toronto quickly set up fencing around the den to deter people from interacting with the foxes after numerous reports of people feeding the animals, taking selfies with them and even going so far as trying to pick them up.

Earlier in May, the Toronto Wildlife Centre erected a much larger fence, put up signs and installed a fox-cam to further discourage people from interacting with the family.

Volunteers from the Toronto Wildlife Centre have also been posted daily in areas the foxes have been observed, with the intention of mildly harassment in hopes that the family will move to a new home – somewhere not so easily swarmed by on-lookers.

“Although it seems unpleasant, aversive actions (like chasing them and making loud noises to scare them) will ultimately save their lives,” the Toronto Wildlife Centre said in a social media post on May 07. “It’s critical that they learn a healthy fear of people as they grow into adult wild animals.”