better.’
‘If only we’d had such fish in Farthing Wood stream,’ sighed the female who still hankered after her old home. ‘None of the otters would have lost their lives and all those awful events wouldn’t have happened.’ She brushed some fragments of food from her whiskers which were exceptionally long.
The others were silent as they digested her words. Each one thought about the fateful lack of food which had caused them to be driven out into a perilous and unknown world. Finally Slow Otter said, ‘The sky is paling. We should find shelter quickly: the humans will be astir.’
The six looked around for reliable cover. Sleek Otter had noticed a lake close to the trout farm which was fringed with reeds and other growth. It seemed the obvious place to hide in during the coming day. There would be time later to develop more permanent dens. She led them to it and the otters tunnelled into the vegetation, weary but at least no longer hungry. For a while they talked about the extraordinary bounty of fish. Although they couldn’t, of course, understand the concept of a trout farm, they all knew the fish were where they were because of human intent. They knew that the fish must be of value to humans, which meant they – the otters – must exercise extreme care. It was obvious to them thattheir interference in the humans’ plans must not be discovered, otherwise they would be in real danger.
‘We need to make sure there’s not a trace of our coming,’ Sleek Otter summarized. ‘It would perhaps be wise to bring the fish to eat here, or wherever we settle eventually.’
‘Yes, that’s sensible,’ Lame Otter agreed. ‘We don’t want to attract the slightest attention to ourselves.’
Ironically that is exactly what the otters had done. News of the sighting in an area well away from their Farthing Wood habitat reached the local wildlife groups. These were puzzled and concerned. Why had the animals left their usual territory so suddenly? What had caused them to stray into an area of human population? An investigation into this mystery became vital. While the otters were using every ounce of caution, interested parties were combing the area around Farthing Wood for a clue to their present location. It was now generally accepted that there had been some kind of assault upon them by other animals – the dead otters were proof of that – and that, to escape further slaughter, the remaining otters had fled. It was the business of the conservation groups to secure these animals again, return them to their home territory, and ensure that they were properly protected there.
The inhabitants of Farthing Wood naturally knew none of this. None of them realized the chain of events that had been set in motion by the foxes’ attack. Only Sage Hedgehog sensed impending disaster. His words, in the main, fell on deaf ears. Spring broods of young voles, shrews and fieldmice increased the little creatures’ numbers dramatically. From owls to weasels,none of the predators went short of food. Rabbits, too, were breeding prolifically, so that the foxes’ diet was a particularly good one.
Stout Fox and his vixen were the most skilled rabbit hunters, the vixen especially. ‘You have a talent all your own,’ Stout Fox told her after he had watched her admiringly for the umpteenth time. ‘I can’t think why you lay low while the otters made such nuisances of themselves. You could have shown them a thing or two.’
‘I didn’t lie low,’ she corrected him. ‘I simply kept apart. All that fuss! You were overawed, all of you, by their antics. Silly beasts, they only deserved to be ignored.’
They trotted home companionably in the moonlight. Ahead of them, they saw Lean Vixen flit like a shadow between two tall trees. The fox pairs didn’t encounter one another very often. They preferred not to mingle, now that the fighting was done. But this time Lean Vixen caught the scent of the other two and turned towards
‘If only we’d had such fish in Farthing Wood stream,’ sighed the female who still hankered after her old home. ‘None of the otters would have lost their lives and all those awful events wouldn’t have happened.’ She brushed some fragments of food from her whiskers which were exceptionally long.
The others were silent as they digested her words. Each one thought about the fateful lack of food which had caused them to be driven out into a perilous and unknown world. Finally Slow Otter said, ‘The sky is paling. We should find shelter quickly: the humans will be astir.’
The six looked around for reliable cover. Sleek Otter had noticed a lake close to the trout farm which was fringed with reeds and other growth. It seemed the obvious place to hide in during the coming day. There would be time later to develop more permanent dens. She led them to it and the otters tunnelled into the vegetation, weary but at least no longer hungry. For a while they talked about the extraordinary bounty of fish. Although they couldn’t, of course, understand the concept of a trout farm, they all knew the fish were where they were because of human intent. They knew that the fish must be of value to humans, which meant they – the otters – must exercise extreme care. It was obvious to them thattheir interference in the humans’ plans must not be discovered, otherwise they would be in real danger.
‘We need to make sure there’s not a trace of our coming,’ Sleek Otter summarized. ‘It would perhaps be wise to bring the fish to eat here, or wherever we settle eventually.’
‘Yes, that’s sensible,’ Lame Otter agreed. ‘We don’t want to attract the slightest attention to ourselves.’
Ironically that is exactly what the otters had done. News of the sighting in an area well away from their Farthing Wood habitat reached the local wildlife groups. These were puzzled and concerned. Why had the animals left their usual territory so suddenly? What had caused them to stray into an area of human population? An investigation into this mystery became vital. While the otters were using every ounce of caution, interested parties were combing the area around Farthing Wood for a clue to their present location. It was now generally accepted that there had been some kind of assault upon them by other animals – the dead otters were proof of that – and that, to escape further slaughter, the remaining otters had fled. It was the business of the conservation groups to secure these animals again, return them to their home territory, and ensure that they were properly protected there.
The inhabitants of Farthing Wood naturally knew none of this. None of them realized the chain of events that had been set in motion by the foxes’ attack. Only Sage Hedgehog sensed impending disaster. His words, in the main, fell on deaf ears. Spring broods of young voles, shrews and fieldmice increased the little creatures’ numbers dramatically. From owls to weasels,none of the predators went short of food. Rabbits, too, were breeding prolifically, so that the foxes’ diet was a particularly good one.
Stout Fox and his vixen were the most skilled rabbit hunters, the vixen especially. ‘You have a talent all your own,’ Stout Fox told her after he had watched her admiringly for the umpteenth time. ‘I can’t think why you lay low while the otters made such nuisances of themselves. You could have shown them a thing or two.’
‘I didn’t lie low,’ she corrected him. ‘I simply kept apart. All that fuss! You were overawed, all of you, by their antics. Silly beasts, they only deserved to be ignored.’
They trotted home companionably in the moonlight. Ahead of them, they saw Lean Vixen flit like a shadow between two tall trees. The fox pairs didn’t encounter one another very often. They preferred not to mingle, now that the fighting was done. But this time Lean Vixen caught the scent of the other two and turned towards
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