Lazy brown fox stages a coop in the hen-house: Caught red-handed – the predator turned protector

It’s fair to assume that a fox stalking a chicken coop is on the hunt for dinner. So when Jane France found a wily predator sitting inside her hen house she feared she had stumbled across every farmer’s worst nightmare. But she need not have worried – for this fox was content curling up on a nest of eggs to keep them warm as her hens happily pecked nearby.

It was somewhat startled to have been found at a school farmyard, she said. And rather than run off, the fox stayed perfectly still while office manager Ms France took a few pictures. ‘I don’t suppose I’ll ever take another photo like that,’ said the 57-year-old. ‘The chickens were happily scratching around in the garden – oblivious to the fox keeping the eggs warm.’

Found by children at the Flying Bull primary school, in Portsmouth, it’s not known how long the fox was in the coop. Ms France said the school has been visited by foxes before, but added: ‘This one had a beautiful bushy tail. ‘Other foxes running through our grounds have generally been thin and in very poor condition.’ The fox left shortly after a colleague went into the shed and ‘had a word’ with it, she said. ‘All the eggs were intact and the chickens seemed none the wiser,’ Ms France added.

www.metro.co.uk

to be caught red-handed – tetten érik
to assume – feltételezni
to stalk – lopakodni, osonni
predator – ragadozó
hen house – tyúkól
to curl up – összegömbölyödni
startled – riadt
still – mozdulatlan
to scratch around – kapirgálni
oblivious –  nincs tudatában
it’s not known – nem tudni
bushy – lompos, bozontos
in poor condition – rossz állapotban
to have a word with someone – beszélni a fejével
intact – érintetlen
to be none the wiser – mit sem tud róla

True or false?

1. The fox wanted to eat the eggs.

2. The hens had no idea there was a fox in the hen house.

3. The fox didn’t behave like a typical fox.

4. The fox was found by the schoolchildren but it ran away.

5. The fox had to be sent out of the hen house.

answers: 1-F 2-T 3-T 4-F 5-T

Normal
0

false
false
false

EN-GB
X-NONE
X-NONE

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