![]() ![]() Many of my sightings have been after dark, when, on moonlit nights, I might catch sight of a fox moving swiftly across the landscape. I have been watching the foxes on the farm for over a decade and even when I know where to look for them, catching a glimpse is more often down to luck not diligence. They raise their young, dig dens, hunt, and leave signs of their presence throughout the area, but are themselves largely invisible. Foxes have been around the farm almost continuously for many decades, and yet they are seen infrequently. The most remarkable thing about foxes, is their ability to remain unseen while living in highly disturbed sites. But that of course, is to anthropomorphize them. ![]() I’m sure they were young of the year, and I decided they must have had a successful hunt and were celebrating. It was a remarkable performance, ending only when they got wind of me and melted quietly away. Leaping, chasing, jumping, lunging, and stalking each other, there can be no other word to describe what they were doing. The enchanting sight of three foxes playing met my eyes. Becoming aware of movement ahead I stopped to focus my binoculars. It was mid-December and I was snowshoeing across a field east of the city just as day was breaking. One early morning encounter remains in my mind as clear today as 30 years ago. But even then, the best time to see them is very early in the morning, when they are returning from a night’s hunting, or after sunset when they are setting out. Find the rabbit and fox population as a function of time series#He notes that the bark is given “once or twice per minute in a series of 5 to 15 repetitions.”įoxes are primarily nocturnal, except in winter when they spend much more time hunting during the day. Henry (1993) describes the sound as “a slightly drawn-out wail” that will carry for over 1 km. David Henry (1996).Īlthough capable of loud, high-pitched barking, foxes are usually silent except in breeding season when they bark to attract a mate or when they warn intruders away from their cubs. It has always amazed me how this animal can spring from a supine position and flee like the wind, “floating over windfallen trees and dense underbrush, as if it were half bird” in the words of J. Whether in play, or in earnest pursuit of food, foxes move with an elegance and grace that is pure poetry in motion. The more diverse an area, the more red foxes seem to thrive in it.” (Henry 1996). It is thought that red foxes “do best, that is, become most abundant, in country that is varied - land that is made up of a patchwork of woodlots, open meadows, dense brushlands, pastures, and small wetlands. Open or semi-open areas similar to that of the CEF, as well as woodlands and forest openings, are all used. ![]() Their range extends across much of North America where they live in a variety of habitats. No doubt because, although long associated with human habitation, they are so adept at being invisible. The sight of a fox in an urban setting still surprises many. I’ve seen only the typical red fox pelage around the FWG and the Farm. Foxes showing a black coat with white-tipped guard hairs are called “silver foxes.” Another variant is called the “cross-fox,” named for the unusual dark “cross” over its shoulders. Colour variations exist, including a melanistic or black phase. The fur is beautifully thick and dense, and the tail is a magnificent, bushy, plume. The ears are black, as are the lower legs giving the impression the fox is wearing dark socks. The name “red fox” is apt, for their coat is a deep, rich, glossy rufous, except for the chest, abdomen and tip of the tail, which are white. ![]()
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