Urban foxes no more cunning than rural ones, researchers find

City dwellers just as likely to be too shy or lazy' to solve puzzle for food as their country cousins, study finds

From rooting through our rubbish to stealing shoes and garden gloves, urban foxes are renowned for their intrepid behaviour. But although city life may have made them bolder than their country cousins, they are no more cunning - and most are likely to be too lazy to persevere at a problem to obtain food, research suggests.

Globally, red foxes are among the most successful carnivores, and the number living in British towns and cities has exploded in recent years. But while some researchers have suggested that urbanisation might be making foxes and other wildlife bolder and smarter, few studies have directly tested how they compare with rural foxes when confronted with the same challenges.