Foxen!

[altivo]

We have real foxes. Mama and a kit. We'd each seen the mom once, but this afternoon we both saw her and her baby. In fact, we saw her chase our big barn cat very aggressively. Gary thought she wanted to eat him, but he's about as big as she is. Then we saw the baby and realized she was protecting the baby.

They were hanging out in a pile of old logs back in our woodlot. We found another dead chicken there, too. Soon the neighbors will have no chickens left at this rate.

The baby is soooo cute. I saw him/her hiding between the logs, with just ears and eyes poking out. Of course I didn't have a camera handy. Their ears are huge for the size of their heads, and mom has a fantastic tail.

Perhaps I'll get lucky and get a photo or two to share.

Comments

[aerofox.livejournal.com]

Oh! You are SOOOO lucky! *whimper* I wish we could see foxes around our house.

I hope you do get some pictures *tailwags*

BTW, its very doubtful a fox would eat a cat, unless the fox is very lucky.
Usually, rabbits are the largest prey a fox will go after. Though, a chicken farm is heaven! ^_^

[avon-deer.livejournal.com]

I heard that most foxes would not take on a cat, as cats can be nasty, and can injure a fox quite badly.

Perhaps thats a demonstration of motherly devotion.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I think you're right. This cat is fat and lazy, and generally pretty bold. He chases dogs, for instance. I looked out the dining room window and saw him lying in the middle of our lane, watching something in the distance. Pointed that out to Gary and we were both looking just in time to see the cat jump up and head for the house as the mother fox came charging down the lane right at him. She was running right next to him when they went out of sight of the window. Gary ran outdoors yelling but only heard the fox dashing off through the undergrowth. The cat came into the house through the dog door, unharmed and mostly unruffled.

I had to go outside to retrieve Gary, as he was convinced the little vixen had already killed the cat and dragged him off (impossible, I think, because the cat probably outweighs her.) A few minutes later I saw her again, in the middle of the lane but out toward the pastures, watching us. In the middle of feeding chores, I looked out the barn door and saw the baby watching me from the log pile in the woods.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I hope she's good at catching mice. Our barns are full of them since the barn cat moved into the house and lazes around all day. If she relies on chicken, both she and the kit will be very hungry soon, as there aren't that many around. Worse, if she continues to remove chickens and turkeys from neighboring farms, someone will go after her with a trap or a rifle I'm afraid.

I'm having some trouble persuading Gary that it's all right to leave her alone. The cat is one of his favorites and he was first terrified that she would kill it (and convinced that she is responsible for the disappearance of another housecat a couple of weeks ago) and then began to worry that the neighbors would bring some sort of legal charges against us for "harboring" a dangerous wild animal.

I'll try to get pictures, but it would be sheer luck to have the camera handy at the right moment. It's also possible that after yesterday's close encounters mama will move the kit somewhere else.

[vimsig.livejournal.com]

'yes please' to the photos

;O)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I'll try, but no guarantees that I'll manage it.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

She probably was protecting her kit, :) Awww little baby fox :) All ears eyes and paws at that age.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the baby is about half ears and very fuzzy. I have no idea how old it is, but apparently old enough to be weaned.

[hrrunka]

The cats and foxes (and occasional badger) who visit my garden usually seem to manage to avoid each other, though they do leave calling cards to say they've been through.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I've been blaming the neighbors' yappy little terriers for that, though now I wonder...

[animist.livejournal.com]

Yay! I look forward to seeing the pictures. :)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

No guarantees. It will take a lot of luck to be ready with the camera at just the right moment.

[alaskawolf.livejournal.com]

it never gets old seeing Fox around :)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

No, it doesn't. I'm glad we still have some wildlife left in this disgusting development craze. Unfortunately my mate was awake half the night worrying that they would eat his cat and all our sheep and I guess the horses too.

And he's seen the vixen. I'll bet she doesn't weigh 10 pounds. How he can get all that worry out of something so small...

[dragon-moon.livejournal.com]

(Greetings!) I love foxes. They're such a treasure when you get to see them. When I was in high school we'd get to ride our horses in the neighbor's huge field, and in the middle of that field there was a little gully where a pair of foxes had a den. We had a wonderful few years where we'd see them and their kits on occasion. That's one of the things I miss the most about that place!

Hope you are fortunate enough to see them again! :o)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

See the tail end of today's post. I didn't see them, but my mate did see the baby again.