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Think of every dramatic battle to the death between two animals you've ever watched in a nature documentary. They're always set out in the wilderness somewhere: on the vast savannah, in a dense rainforest, or under the sea. You don't really see much of these dramatic death matches in urban settings, because cities aren't usually known for their majestic wildlife.
But while cities may not have much of the kind of wildlife David Attenborough would narrate over, they sure do have a lot of vermin. Onlookers in London were fascinated the other day by a street battle to the death between a hungry fox and a big rat, watched over by a pair of magpies, because why not. It's a concrete jungle out there!
ABC News shared a video of the incident from one of the onlookers stopped in their tracks by the mighty animal brawl . The fox clearly wanted to make a meal out of the rat, but the rodent wasn't going down without a fight. It was such an engrossing scene that even the magpies wanted in on the action, chittering and commenting on the fight.
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Both the fox and the rat put up a heck of a fight, tearing down the London street and scattering pedestrians as they raced past. The rat even got the fox to stumble back a few times by leaping out at it. Eventually, though, the bigger animal got the upper hand. Rather than running away when it had the chance, the rat grew bold and tried to go on the offensive, but the fox took that opportunity to finally chomp the rat and end the battle. This rat should have listened to Kenny Rogers: "You've gotta know when to hold 'em, and know when to fold 'em."
Pest vs. (Unofficial) Pest
Most city slickers with an aversion to pests would probably be relieved to see that huge rat get taken out by the fox. Rats chew through walls and infest food storage, leave behind their nasty droppings, and often carry tons of nasty diseases and pests. Flea-ridden rats helped bring the devastating bubonic plague to London, England centuries ago, and understandably, Londoners haven't really grown to like them since.
But while most people would prefer foxes to rats, foxes also have a "pest" reputation in the United Kingdom , at least in urban settings. According to the Gravesham Borough Council, urban foxes can carry parasites and diseases, raid gardens and garbage cans (similar to raccoons and bears in the States), and are notorious for killing small livestock or pets , oftentimes "killing more than they need to eat immediately."
Unlike rats, however, foxes aren't legally considered "pests" or "vermin" under UK law, according to British conservationist org Protect the Wild. In fact, nowadays they are afforded some legal protections from inhumane treatment (including the banning of fox hunting, a cruel sport that persisted in the UK for hundreds of years). And while red foxes have a bad reputation for raiding farmer's chicken coops and attacking small livestock, BBC 's Discover Wildlife noted that their hunting habits also help cull the populations of more harmful pests , like rabbits, moles, and (as we saw in the video) rats.
If urban foxes could stage a few more showdowns like this one and focus their hunting efforts on the rat population, they might earn back some street cred with the Brits. If nothing else, these urban wildlife battles make for great free entertainment!
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