THIS is the stunning moment a two-legged fox goes hunting for food in a couple’s garden.
Phil Carter, 71, couldn’t believe it when his wife, Jane, told him she’d seen a fox with just two legs “bolt upright like a human” on their lawn over Christmas.
Despite only having two legs the fox didn’t appear to have any problems moving aboutCredit: BPM
He told the Daily Mail: “My wife saw it, she then shouted at me and I came through to the kitchen with my camera on my phone.
“I thought she was joking at first or had mis-seen it. It was 3pm in the afternoon and I thought it could have been a trick of the light but no, there it was, bright as day walking about on just two legs.”
The couple from Ilkeston, Derbyshire, had been putting the finishing touches to their Christmas tree when they caught sight of the bushy-tailed animal on December 17.
Mr Carter said: “It was fascinating. It stood bolt upright and ran like a human being on two legs. It just had two little fairy stumps at the back.”
After a short while the fox stood up and darted off.
Mrs Carter, 72, then went out with some food and the fox jumped back over the garden wall to eat the snack.
Mr Carter said foxes are a regular sight in their large garden as business owners have around 30 acres of fields at the back of their property.
Wildlife experts from Derbyshire Nature Reserve, having been in touch with the couple after seeing the footage, said it was likely the fox had been born with the deformity.
Mr Carter said: “The experts believe it was most likely born that way, because if it had been run over by a car or hit by a combine harvester then the whole of its back would have been damaged, which doesn’t appear to be the case.”
He added that he didn’t think hunting was the cause either, saying: “We do have some trail hunting in the area, but they aren’t allowed to kill the foxes anymore.”
Mr Carter thought the fox had probably learned to walk that way having been around other four-legged cubs.
“This animal showed no signs of being underfed. It can clearly hunt and eat. You just wouldn’t believe how fast it is. It stood up, bolted as fast as a human child would run,” he said.
The couple have grown fond of seeing foxes in their garden and Mrs Carter has played with cubs when they venture in, in the springtime.
Earlier in December last year, two foxes were spotted playing in the snow in London.
In a video posted to TikTok, @roseannafireman shared the moment the furry foxes played in the back garden.
At the start of the video, one is on a roof burying its face into the snow.
It then scurries away down the side of a hedge before meeting its friend on the ground.
The pair then played with each other and ran back and forth.
It’s thought the fox was born with the missing legsCredit: BPM