Foxes - and Other PEI Animals

When Terry suggested we take a short vacation in Prince Edward Island, I wondered what we'd find there - apart from Avonlea, the farming community described in the novel "Anne of Green Gables" ...

And light houses.

I did expect to find red farm land. After all, don't we buy PEI potatoes?

I didn't expect to find a lot of fishing communities... but we did - dotted here and there on the coast.

Lots of fish restaurants!

Lobster fishing is big in PEI.

So is clam digging and other types of fishing.

What totally surprised  me (and enchanted me at the same time) was to discover that there were foxes - somewhere between wild and tame - wandering around in town and country, not bothering anyone or being bothered by them.

We only encountered one. Our first day in Charlottetown, as Terry and I walked around orientating ourselves, I saw a beautiful black one on the sidewalk on a city street.

Is that a fox? I asked Terry It looks like a dog - but look at the bushy tail...

All black with a bit of grey on the tail, looking as healthy and well-cared for as any pet dog, it crossed the sidewalk near us and entered a parking garage.

Before I could get out my camera out, it had disappeared. Should I follow it? Would it attack me?

Do you have... foxes in PEI? I later asked Shelley, at the B&B where we were staying.

That's how I discovered that foxes do indeed live in the island. One golf course is even called "Fox Meadows" - and foxes are often seen there. They have been known to carry away stray golf balls, thinking them to be edible eggs.

 

Foxes are part of PEI's history. Years ago, farmers bred and sold them - which is how they became familiar with humans. Later, they were set free to fend for themselves in nature...

Are they a risk to dogs or cats - or humans? I asked Shelley.

No, she replied. They aren't dangerous. And their biggest enemies - apart from motor vehicles - are coyotes. People are asked not to feed foxes - though some do. They eat mice...

Mice - another PEI story! Apparently there were no mice on PEI until they disembarked from a ship. At first, they multiplied so fast that they destroyed crops. The port where they landed is called Souris - "Mice" in French.

How did coyotes get to PEI? I asked. Are they native to the island?

No, they walked over from the mainland one winter on frozen ice.

I had no idea there were so many animal stories on PEI!