A female fox is seen walking in Belfountain with her next meal. Photo courtesy Sarah Bohan.
Heather Abrey
Jul 04, 2009
SOURCE: The Caledon Enterprise
A family of foxes is getting special attention in Belfountain and has brought the community together in an effort to protect the rather daring animals.
"We were doing a little community display in our village centre," said Sarah Bohan, member of the Belfountain Community Organization (BCO). "We (the BCO) just noticed the fox at 11 in the morning, just trotting no more than 10 feet behind us... and it did that several times that day."
The fox made several trips across Mississauga Road, and has also been spotted on Bush Street. "There's a lot of traffic, especially on the weekend, and we were all afraid that it was going to be hit by a car," said Bohan. "It's not sick, it's definitely healthy, and she's hunting... so we were saying let's make up some signs."
The BCO had the idea to approach Erin realtor Jamie Gairdner - whose logo is a fox - for help with the fox crossing signs.
"It took me one hundredth of a second to say yes, because it's complimentary to my business... and I thought I was doing a good thing for the wildlife," explained Gairdner. The realtor has been in business for 48 years, and chose the fox as his logo after working with a company that featured a horse as its mascot. "I thought a fox would be more appropriate for country properties, and so we picked the fox. And it's become very distinctive, people recognize it immediately."
The Gairdner and Associates Real Estate Ltd. website features a large photo of a red fox, with the caption 'Looking for a new den?'.
But the Belfountain foxes have found their den and made themselves comfortable, frequently crossing streets to hunt, and often spotted carrying small animals like squirrels back to their kits.
Concerned for the welfare of the animals, the BCO approached Gairdner with their sign idea. "We worked with him and we made up these signs. They're not a real estate sign, they're a fox crossing sign," said Bohan. "He's given us a beautiful double sided sign and they're on beautiful wrought iron standards."
So far four signs have gone up, including one facing northbound traffic on Mississauga Road, and another facing southbound. The last sign was hammered into the ground the evening June 21, and so far the community response has been very positive, according to Bohan.
"We've had many positive comments from people... This is one of the reasons they moved up to Caledon or to Belfountain, because we respect our wildlife," she said. "Everyone is just really delighted that they've taken up residence in our village and we're just trying to do our part to protect them and make sure they're not harmed in any way."
Both the BCO and Gairdner have received lots of positive feedback, and the idea has sparked some sign envy from those who have their own resident foxes.
"He's actually getting requests now. They've only been up not even a week... and we've gotten really positive emails from community members, but he's been approached by community members who want a sign on their property because they have foxes," explained Bohan. "There are people as far away as Terra Cotta asking for these signs."
And for the foxes, Gairdner will oblige.
He told The Enterprise he will provide signs for anyone living within 50 km of Erin who has knowledge of a fox den on their property.
"There's quite a competition for who can get the signs," Gairdner said. "I'm very happy to be involved with this; it's my privilege to try and help."
And the signs aren't just a pretty decoration; Bohan believes that they actually do prompt drivers to slow down and pay more attention, providing the foxes some protection. "I even watched a little bit to see if people would brake when they saw the sign," she said, adding that she saw some lights brighten as they passed. "It's had an effect already. We also know it's had an effect because of all the feedback we've been getting. It's just been a win-win for everybody. A triple win, for the foxes, even though they're unaware, for the community and for Jamie Gairdner."
