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An Unfortunate Encounter...
16 years ago
General
It's been an unusual day today, thanks to something that happened on my way to work this morning.
It started off normally enough - riding my motorcycle firstly along main roads before switching to country lanes. I also had my usual fair share of asswipes driving right up my trumpet, which I'm kinda used to now. (Amazing the number of drivers who don't understand that bikes do actually corner more slowly than cars - my bike especially!)
It was while I was travelling through one such lane that I spotted something in the road ahead of me. I knew it was an animal of some description, but as I drew closer, I realised it was a fox; and so, when I could, I turned the bike around and went for a closer look.
I already knew the fox had been hit by a car, but it looked as though there was a chance it was still alive - there was little blood, and its body was pretty much unmarked. So I parked my bike up in a nearby driveway and, when it was clear (it was a very narrow lane!!), I knelt down by it. It was a young vixen - one of this years' cubs, probably no more than six months old. I rested my gloved hand on her, but she didn't move; so I checked for a pulse, but not only could I find none, but she was cold. (Bear in mind I'm a foxologist: I've been studying them for over 17 years, so I do know what I'm doing!!)
Although this little vixen was dead, I wasn't going to leave her there in the middle of the road: so I picked her up with the same gentleness and respect I would have a live animal, and carried her to the edge of the road. My only regret is there was nothing more I could do for her...
This vixen isn't the first fox I've ever handled - she's the fifth I've held over the years - but she is the first dead one. But although the spark of life had left her, it didn't alter the respect I felt for her. I wasn't going to just leave her, like the rest of the people who'd just speed on, ignoring her...
I can't do that. I won't do that - ever.
So rest in peace, my little vixen...
It started off normally enough - riding my motorcycle firstly along main roads before switching to country lanes. I also had my usual fair share of asswipes driving right up my trumpet, which I'm kinda used to now. (Amazing the number of drivers who don't understand that bikes do actually corner more slowly than cars - my bike especially!)
It was while I was travelling through one such lane that I spotted something in the road ahead of me. I knew it was an animal of some description, but as I drew closer, I realised it was a fox; and so, when I could, I turned the bike around and went for a closer look.
I already knew the fox had been hit by a car, but it looked as though there was a chance it was still alive - there was little blood, and its body was pretty much unmarked. So I parked my bike up in a nearby driveway and, when it was clear (it was a very narrow lane!!), I knelt down by it. It was a young vixen - one of this years' cubs, probably no more than six months old. I rested my gloved hand on her, but she didn't move; so I checked for a pulse, but not only could I find none, but she was cold. (Bear in mind I'm a foxologist: I've been studying them for over 17 years, so I do know what I'm doing!!)
Although this little vixen was dead, I wasn't going to leave her there in the middle of the road: so I picked her up with the same gentleness and respect I would have a live animal, and carried her to the edge of the road. My only regret is there was nothing more I could do for her...
This vixen isn't the first fox I've ever handled - she's the fifth I've held over the years - but she is the first dead one. But although the spark of life had left her, it didn't alter the respect I felt for her. I wasn't going to just leave her, like the rest of the people who'd just speed on, ignoring her...
I can't do that. I won't do that - ever.
So rest in peace, my little vixen...
I just wish I could have done more for her...
But I had to give her that chance; and even though she had died, I couldn't just leave her there.
But it's nice to know I'm not the only one who thinks this way, though...
I had to check to see if the vixen was alive; but even though she wasn't, I couldn't just leave her there in the road. She was little more than a cub - an innocent - and I wasn't about to turn my back on her...
I don't think she suffered, to be honest. It looked like she took a glancing blow to the head, but the impact was enough to kill her outright. (There was some blood, but I only found that after I moved her.) But it looked as though she might have been alive; and if there was even that faintest glimmer of hope, I was determined to give her that chance. Once I knew she was dead, I couldn't just leave her lying in the road, either.
My only consolation is that, at this time of year, there's a good chance she would have left her family to find a territory of her own (not definitely, though, since some vixens do remain with their parents); and it was too early in the year for her to have found a mate, who would have mourned her. (Foxes have a unique "mourning" scream they only use when they find a dead mate.) She may not have had an owner to care for her, but for a few brief minutes, I'd like to think I was her guardian.
I couldn't turn my back on her.
Like you say with your kitty, it's good that the driver of that car was humane enough to tell you in person what he'd done. I'm sure he felt rotten about taking the life of an innocent...
*hugs*
At least you did what you could, and if nothing else, saved her the indignity of getting run over again by some inattentive or careless motorist. I'd like to think she will be grateful to you for that.
Skyfox
But it's nice to know that there are others who'd do the same. Thank you, Skyfox.
-Rorschfox.