The Crafty Star of Fables living at Newbarn Farm

A symbol of European literature for centuries, the Red Fox has appeared in countless Aesop's fables as the crafty and sly fox who always outwits everyone. To this extent this is true. The fox is very crafty; it has been hunted down mercilessly in English fox hunts, and shot just for its fur, and yet its numbers are not affected. It has managed to survive quite well in its country and town homes.

Here at Newbarn Farm we have a resident red fox who often appears during daylight hours bold as brass ambling around one of our neighbours field which not only do we overlook but a large percentage of our lane runs alongside it! This fox we believe to be a dog fox because of his size - dog foxes tend to be a good 20% larger than the vixens. So regular are these sightings we have now named the field mentioned 'Foxes Field'. Many an angler on the banks of our ponds here on a Devon Fishing Holiday have caught delighted glimpses of our bushy friend. Guests staying in our self-catering cottages & fishing have also seen him taking a mid morning stroll across the field.

Foxes can potentially live up to 12 years of age, but few live longer than 3-4 years, especially in areas of high hunting presures. Hopefully our friend will then possibly surpass this as hunting is not a sport pursued in our locality - thankfully!

Red foxes will eat anything, as they are very versatile when it comes to diet. It is this reason that they are such successful predators. They are true omnivores, and will eat rodents, fruit, vegetatain, insects, human garbage and even young deer. Rodents and rabbits form the bulk of their diet - both of which are in high abundance here at Newbarn Farm, a popular Devon Fishing Holiday location. In the more urban areas of their habitat, they will scavenge on human refuse, and even eat out of pet food bowls left outside. Foxes hunt game by stalking and pouncing like a cat. They usually hunt in meadows, where their main prey, mice and voles live. With their incredible sense of hearing, they can locate voles and mice through the thick grass and even in their underground burrows. They wait until the mouse or vole comes above ground, then the fox jumps high in the air and pounces on its prey. To kill its prey, the fox severs the spinal cord with its teeth.They typically eat 1-2lbs of food a day. They will cache any surplus food near their denning area, to be eaten later. Here at Newbarn Farm, home of Holiday Cottages & Fishing in a tranquil oasis, we only know too well how the fox will cache food. Last year in early spring we unfortunately failed to lock in our free range chickens one night (all 9 of them!) - the following morning the coop was empty bar countless of feathers. Later that morning I saw twice a fox, probably the same one walking proudly by with one of our feathered friends in his mouth carrying it of to his den for a future feast!

But in recent months especially through the artic conditions we have had of late, my husband and I have forgiven our red friend for the massacre last spring. He has given us so much delight allowing us to watch him from afar and on a few lucky occasions from very near - staring each other out until he decides it time to trot off into the distance.

So next time you are considering a Fishing Holidays in Devon why not give Newbarn Farm a go you just may get a little more than you bargained for!!!!