0:23:49 > 0:23:57.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28I know absolutely nothing about foxes.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30Debbie, what's the story with this fox?
0:24:30 > 0:24:35Her name is Linny, she was found lying on the side of the motorway, she was about four weeks old.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38- How old is she now? - She's three years old now.
0:24:38 > 0:24:44- Why is she still here?- The problem is that she doesn't really know that she's a fox.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47In her head, she probably thinks she's a dog or cat.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51She doesn't have any instinct. She isn't able to survive in the wild
0:24:51 > 0:24:53so she's remained at the centre.
0:24:53 > 0:24:57- What is this centre? - It's a wildlife rescue centre
0:24:57 > 0:25:00where we take in sick and injured wildlife from round Northern Ireland.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03It's all very well having one under your arm here
0:25:03 > 0:25:05but can we see them in the wild?
0:25:05 > 0:25:10We're going to head off and see if we're lucky enough to find some.
0:25:10 > 0:25:15These are going to be urban foxes, they'll be around people's houses
0:25:15 > 0:25:17and round the streets.
0:25:17 > 0:25:22- What are we doing?- We're attaching motion sensor cameras to the tree
0:25:22 > 0:25:27and if we're lucky, we'll capture some images of foxes in the area.
0:25:27 > 0:25:33- How do you know there are foxes round here?- The local people feed the foxes at night
0:25:33 > 0:25:37so if we're lucky, we should be able to see some.
0:25:37 > 0:25:42- Foxy Loxy comes past, triggers the camera, takes a picture.- Exactly.
0:25:42 > 0:25:47- But now this is the time we have to wait.- OK. Bring a flask?
0:25:47 > 0:25:50OK, give us some there.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00We've been here a couple of hours, let's see what you've got.
0:26:00 > 0:26:01No problem.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03Brilliant!
0:26:03 > 0:26:05He ate the sausage!
0:26:05 > 0:26:09Will they eat their fill or will they come back and forward?
0:26:09 > 0:26:11They'll eat as much as they can.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14They will probably take food away and stash it.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16He's the more dominant one of the two.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19He's come in for the food, the other one's backed off.
0:26:19 > 0:26:24How do you feel about the fact that when a fox gets into a chicken coop, it kills everything it sees?
0:26:24 > 0:26:26It is in their instinct to do that.
0:26:26 > 0:26:30Their attitude is, "We don't know when our next meal's coming along,
0:26:30 > 0:26:33"so kill everything and stash it."
0:26:33 > 0:26:37They're really close. I mean, this is the town.
0:26:37 > 0:26:41A lot of people think the foxes are moving into urban areas
0:26:41 > 0:26:44when, in fact, we're building houses on the countryside,
0:26:44 > 0:26:47so they're just coming in and adapting and living around us.
0:26:48 > 0:26:53Over there, you can actually see them in the headlights.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56They're still coming up and taking the food.
0:26:56 > 0:27:00It's been absolutely amazing to see all this activity out there.
0:27:00 > 0:27:06And it's the first night I've spent in a car and steamed up the windows with a lady, watching foxes.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09We must do it again sometime.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28Stuart, you've got some fascinating footage of pine martens
0:27:28 > 0:27:33on the estate that hasn't been seen by anybody apart from yourself.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37I'm looking forward to having a bit of a glimpse at them in action.
0:27:37 > 0:27:44This is the bin area at our visitor centre, where pine martens like to come.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48You can see the bins being opened by the pine marten.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51He's smelt some food and he's trying to get at it.
0:27:51 > 0:27:53He's pretty strong.
0:27:53 > 0:27:57- Looks like a male, quite a big animal.- Big tail is the first thing that strikes you.
0:27:57 > 0:28:01- Big, bushy tail. - It's like a fox's tail.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03It's a fantastic little thing.
0:28:03 > 0:28:08When it's walking about the bin you'll see the tail going back and forward for balance.
0:28:08 > 0:28:12He's still got his winter coat on, which is big and bushy, compared to his summer coat.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16- He's disappeared...- He's nipped inside for some food there.
0:28:16 > 0:28:21- Inside that bin, what will he eat? - They have a particularly sweet tooth
0:28:21 > 0:28:28so I imagine anything sweet - jam, or peanut butter, things like that.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32That individual is a male and it looks like he's scent marking,
0:28:32 > 0:28:35so he's marking those bins as his territory.
0:28:35 > 0:28:40Would it be usual just for one of them to come and do this, or might you find two or three?
0:28:40 > 0:28:42They're solitary animals most of the time.
0:28:42 > 0:28:47Males and females would stay apart for most of the year and only come together to breed.
0:28:47 > 0:28:50The female brings up the kits - the babies - on her own.
0:28:50 > 0:28:54The male has no input whatsoever.
0:28:54 > 0:28:59- Whereabouts is this? - This is at a bridge between here and one of our islands.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02It's probably a different animal with a different territory.
0:29:02 > 0:29:09He's smelt some food and he's having a wee look around.
0:29:09 > 0:29:15He has a brown streak, which isn't apparent in the other animals.
0:29:15 > 0:29:18We're fairly sure this is a different animal.
0:29:18 > 0:29:23It's great to see it up close, unaware of the fact the camera is following its every move.
0:29:23 > 0:29:26This is a privilege, because nobody's seen these pictures before.
0:29:26 > 0:29:30Thank you for setting up the traps and organising it for us.
0:29:30 > 0:29:35The big challenge is to see if we can find a pine marten and get up close and personal.
0:29:35 > 0:29:38We'll go to Violet Johnson's house and take our chances,
0:29:38 > 0:29:41see how we get on. Fingers crossed.
0:29:47 > 0:29:52Well, I waited until 10pm that evening.
0:29:52 > 0:29:57Up until then, our pine marten was making a regular appearance at Violet's feeding spot
0:29:57 > 0:29:59at around 9pm.
0:29:59 > 0:30:03Unfortunately, it was a no-show from the pine marten.
0:30:04 > 0:30:09You see, a fox took a liking to his food, and that's why our pine marten disappeared.
0:30:10 > 0:30:13He did eventually turn up, though. First, at night...
0:30:13 > 0:30:17and then he showed up in glorious Technicolor a week later.
0:30:17 > 0:30:20I have to say, it's been well worth the wait.
0:30:22 > 0:30:25Just look at him. He's a real beauty.
0:30:46 > 0:30:48The last time I saw a badger, I was about seven.
0:30:48 > 0:30:52I was reading Wind In The Willows, making animals come alive for me,
0:30:52 > 0:30:55but I couldn't tell you what a badger's set looks like,
0:30:55 > 0:30:59- but you're going to show me today? - Yes, there's one over here and we'll look now.
0:30:59 > 0:31:00Great.
0:31:02 > 0:31:05Here's a typical set entrance. It's a D shape
0:31:05 > 0:31:07because of the shape of a badger's body.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10You can see it's active because of the bedding,
0:31:10 > 0:31:13which they bring in and out, to line their chambers.
0:31:13 > 0:31:15So their very clean animals.
0:31:15 > 0:31:19- Is this the main entrance? - That's only one entrance.
0:31:19 > 0:31:21There could be 30.
0:31:21 > 0:31:25In fact, within that there are a series of tunnels and chambers.
0:31:25 > 0:31:29Badgers continually excavate and change.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33How old is this particular set?
0:31:33 > 0:31:35Many old sets are recorded.
0:31:35 > 0:31:38Even back to the Doomsday Book, there's sets recorded
0:31:38 > 0:31:39which are still active.
0:31:39 > 0:31:44- Right. That's incredible.- This set could be maybe 200-300 years old.
0:31:44 > 0:31:47There's records of sets in this area from that time
0:31:47 > 0:31:49and this certainly is an aged set.
0:31:52 > 0:31:56This well-worn pathway leads to badger latrines -
0:31:56 > 0:31:58their outside toilets.
0:31:58 > 0:32:01This is where badgers come. They dig pits.
0:32:01 > 0:32:03As we discussed, they're very clean animals.
0:32:03 > 0:32:08What's more exciting, it's about time to see badgers at the main set.
0:32:08 > 0:32:11- Does that mean we have to be quiet, Peter?- Very, very quiet.
0:32:11 > 0:32:12I'll try.
0:32:16 > 0:32:20WHISPERS: Look over there. There's one emerging now.
0:32:20 > 0:32:22That's a dominant bore.
0:32:22 > 0:32:25WHISPERS: He's massive! About three foot long?
0:32:25 > 0:32:28Yes, it would be. That's a fully-grown adult.
0:32:28 > 0:32:30That one's probably about three or four years old.
0:32:30 > 0:32:33Is that the boar or the sow? How can you tell?
0:32:33 > 0:32:37Well, you can tell but it's difficult sometimes.
0:32:37 > 0:32:42But the sow, it's narrower between her ears and she's a longer snout,
0:32:42 > 0:32:46whereas the males have a wider face, but sometimes it's very difficult to tell.
0:32:46 > 0:32:49OK, so what's he going to be doing now?
0:32:49 > 0:32:52He'll out to forage now for the night.
0:32:52 > 0:32:56He'll probably stay out until dawn. He'll go in just before dawn.
0:32:56 > 0:32:59And he'll forage around the fields here, looking for earthworms and grubs.
0:32:59 > 0:33:02You've shown me the country badgers,
0:33:02 > 0:33:05so I want to show you something before it gets too dark.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08Our cameras have been out spying on badgers in the city.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23Isn't it strange that badgers are in the city as well?
0:33:23 > 0:33:25I couldn't believe it.
0:33:25 > 0:33:30It's maybe not really, when you think we're building out further and further into their territory.
0:33:30 > 0:33:34So badgers have always been here. We've just moved out in among them.
0:33:34 > 0:33:38To be this up close and personal to badgers has been amazing for me,
0:33:38 > 0:33:42just taking me right back. I feel as if I was seven again, Peter.
0:33:42 > 0:33:43Thank you very much.
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