See Holger the fox playing with the children in Tavelsjö – "But he doesn't give back the sticks"

10/29/2023, 1:28:44 PM

Highlights: Childminder Åsa Holmberg in Tavelsjö outside Umeå has no problem getting the children out into the yard at the moment. Holger the fox sits outside the house and waits for the children to come out and throw sticks to him. "He catches the sticks, but he doesn't give them back," says Iris Kalin, 5. The foxes are curious about the children and come to visit when they are out playing, says Holger's owner.

Childminder Åsa Holmberg in Tavelsjö outside Umeå has no problem getting the children out into the yard at the moment. The reason is that Holger the fox sits outside the house and waits for the children to come out and throw sticks to him. "He catches the sticks, but he doesn't give them back," says Iris Kalin, 5.

It was in July that Åsa Holmberg first met Holger the fox in the woods.

"He was chased by a bunch of magpies that I scared away. And after that, he showed up here on the farm," says Åsa Holmberg.

Now he comes to visit every day and even sits and waits for the children to come out and play – both morning and afternoon. And Holger is not alone, sometimes Henny the fox comes to visit. But she's shyer.

The foxes are curious about the children

When SVT visits the family day nursery, Holger comes up several times while the children are playing. And when the kids go in for lunch, it stands outside the house and looks like it's waiting for them to come out again.

"It's like they're drawn to the children. When we go out, they come out," says Åsa Holmberg.

Why do you think they come here?

"They're so curious about what we do," says Tove Hermansson, 4.

Watch Holger the fox run after sticks that the children throw to him in the clip above.