Dozens of shoes discovered in Bear Gully bonanza
A mystery that has haunted campers at a popular Walkerville campground for several years has been solved, when Camberwell student Jagger Power (11 years old) unearthed a stash of dozens of shoes near a fox den in the dunes near Bear Gully on 4 January.
Visitors have complained about missing footwear since at least 2022, with Foster-based Parks Victoria ranger Matt, who is working at Bear Gully this summer, saying the occasional theft has blossomed into a full-on rampage over the past few months.
“Lots of people have been reporting the loss of shoes to us recently, including expensive running shoes. We’ve been looking for the fox’s den but with no luck, so I reckon there might be a junior ranger badge in it for Jagger,” Matt says.
Jagger himself said it was an unexpected find. “My sister had lost a shoe the night before, but we were just going for a walk really. It was lucky I had a look up there because I don’t think anyone would have found them. I estimate we found almost 40 shoes, mostly boots and runners, and birks were pretty popular too.”
Power’s advice to fellow campers? “Keep your shoes inside and if you lose them, search the bush and the beach.”
Fellow camper, River, aged 11, told the Prom Coast News that the vulpine thief had expensive taste in shoes, “There weren’t any thongs, just Blundstones, birks, uggs and fancy runners.”
Meanwhile, Fish Creek’s Killick McCormack, aged 9, who lost a pair of brand new shoes at Bear Gully last summer when he left them outside overnight, says he feels mollified by last week’s discovery. “My family were yelling at me, because I always lose things. But they were wrong!” he told the Prom Coast News.
The phenomenon of foxes taking human shoes is not unprecedented, and there are dozens of cases reported across the world. Will Ashley, a conservation biologist from Macquarie Uni, who is running a fox population study called AusFox, says that he believes the shoes would be used as toys by the highly intelligent creatures.
“Foxes often give birth to litters of 2-4 cubs in the winter and raise them until they are ready to disperse around 6 months.
I suspect shoe thefts peak in the spring and early summer when cubs are learning through play,” he said.
In any case, there’s currently a row of shoes outside the loos at the campsite for anyone who wants to check for a missing boot! Cara Schultz
