Felicity the Serial Murderer – A Hard Truth from the Wildlife Café

 

I have to talk about something difficult today.Felicity the Fox is a serial murderer.She has already taken two Walters (the pigeons). I witnessed one of the killings with my own eyes — she shook the poor bird violently and feathers went everywhere. The other one I only found the aftermath: a sad little pile of feathers under the trees.And this morning, she took Cyril.I saw it happen while I was making a cup of coffee. One moment he was there being his usual acrobatic self… the next, Felicity had decided she wasn’t waiting for the official breakfast service.It’s upsetting. Of course it is.I feed these animals every day. I know their little habits. I laugh at their antics. Cyril had become a proper character — the bold roof-raider, the feeder-emptyer, the one who turned every anti-squirrel device into his personal playground.And now he’s gone.But here’s the hard truth I have to keep reminding myself:Felicity is a wild fox with cubs to feed.One pouch of cat food in the morning is not enough to sustain a mother fox and her growing family. She has to hunt. That’s what foxes do. That’s what nature does.She doesn’t understand that the Walters and Cyril are “my” regulars. To her, they’re just food.I doubt many of my neighbours put out cat food for her. So in her eyes, my garden is one of the few reliable places where she can get an easy meal — and when that’s not enough, she takes what she needs.So yes… Felicity is a serial murderer.But she’s also a mother trying to keep her cubs alive.It’s a difficult thing to hold in your heart at the same time: sadness for the victims and understanding for the predator.The wildlife café has always been a window into nature, not a Disney version of it.Some days it’s funny and heartwarming.
Some days it’s raw and heartbreaking.Today is one of the hard days.Rest in peace, Cyril.
And the two Walters before you.You were all proper characters, and you made the garden a lot more interesting while you were here.