Guard in cemetery good friend with fox in Aegean province

MUĞLA - Doğan News Agency

Adnan Ekinci has been feeding the fox with chicken or sausage for the past six months after it began appearing at the cemetery at which he works. DHA photo

A dog he is not, but a fox in the southwestern province of Muğla’s Fethiye district has become one man’s best friend, providing companionship to a cemetery worker who frequently puts in the “graveyard” shift in more ways than one. Adnan Ekinci, 53, has been feeding the fox for the past six months after it began appearing at the cemetery at which he works.

Ekinci said he first saw the fox cub in April at the cemetery, adding that he tried to approach the animal and give it some meat, only for the fox to run away hungry.

The next day, however, Ekinci saw that the meat was no longer there, leading him to dub the fox “Kurnaz” (cunning). A week later, Ekinci again saw the fox and began to feed him from a distance. Since then, the fox has been Ekinci’s visitor every night between 8 p.m. and 12 a.m.

Ekinci now calls the fox by name to beckon the animal to his guardhouse, where he feeds the creature cooked chicken meat or sausage. After being fed, the fox returns to the forest where it lives.

The cemetery worker said Kurnaz helped him forget his loneliness, adding that they had become accustomed to each other and had become good friends.

Speaking on the subject, veterinary doctor Enver Aykırı said it was possible for wild animals to become friends with people, but that it was very rare for a fox to come close to a human. However, he added that it was possible for Kurnaz and Ekinci to become friends given that the fox was only a cub when the contact began.