Donal Hickey: Survival of the foxiest

On a starry, frosty night last week, I heard piercing, almost eerie cries in the countryside, writes Donal Hickey

On a starry, frosty night last week, I heard piercing, almost eerie cries in the countryside. So haunting was a high-pitched sound that it must have been like what people, long ago, thought was the wail of the banshee, the invisible fairy woman who sounded a warning about an imminent death in a family, writes Donal Hickey.

But what we heard was the noise of foxes, which are now more vocal during their mating season. As males seek out vixens in heat, foxes are also more mobile now, which probably accounts for more road kills.