(Link to YouTube video) A few days ago, I filmed this family of red foxes at the edge of the wild woods behind my house. The male fox greets the vixen as she nurses five new kits. The mother's lactation lasts for about six weeks.
As Carmel said, "Incredible clips!" How did you get these? The way you say you filmed these foxes outside your back door makes it sound like you just happened to go out and casually film what you saw. But I would think something like this would take a lot of planning and good equipment.
Allen and Carmel, thanks. The foxes are pretty used to us because our forest trails go by a couple of their dens and they must often be aware of us walking by. Each year they use one area for their kits to play. For these shots I had the camcorder (Canon Vixia HF series) on a tripod and cranked to the limit of its telephoto.
Lovely clips of fox family interactions - thank you. I wonder if the greeting, the insistent nuzzling around the ear and under the chin of another fox is a kind of grooming where they are removing ticks from areas that cannot be reached on their own? What do you think? My 2 cats do this a lot. Keep up the good work!
Thanks, all. It was a magical moment, and I was lucky to have the camera ready. I also saw a big fight between a fox and a raccoon (I think the raccoon was trying to catch one of the kits), but I wasn't quick enough with the camera.
Anne, yes, I think there's some grooming going on. I was also reading that the "muzzle up" posture is a submissive posture.
Elaine, foxes are so elusive, but amazingly, they live in cities a lot.
Incredible clips! An evolutionary biologist might yell at me for projecting here, but you can see the love (and the maternal exasperation). :)
ReplyDeleteAs Carmel said, "Incredible clips!" How did you get these? The way you say you filmed these foxes outside your back door makes it sound like you just happened to go out and casually film what you saw. But I would think something like this would take a lot of planning and good equipment.
ReplyDeleteAllen and Carmel, thanks. The foxes are pretty used to us because our forest trails go by a couple of their dens and they must often be aware of us walking by. Each year they use one area for their kits to play. For these shots I had the camcorder (Canon Vixia HF series) on a tripod and cranked to the limit of its telephoto.
ReplyDeleteSadly saw a fox, run over by a car in our neighborhood. Really surprised to see one in this very urban area.
ReplyDeleteWow! Incredible! Thanks very much for posting.
ReplyDeleteLovely clips of fox family interactions - thank you. I wonder if the greeting, the insistent nuzzling around the ear and under the chin of another fox is a kind of grooming where they are removing ticks from areas that cannot be reached on their own? What do you think? My 2 cats do this a lot. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteThanks, all. It was a magical moment, and I was lucky to have the camera ready. I also saw a big fight between a fox and a raccoon (I think the raccoon was trying to catch one of the kits), but I wasn't quick enough with the camera.
ReplyDeleteAnne, yes, I think there's some grooming going on. I was also reading that the "muzzle up" posture is a submissive posture.
Elaine, foxes are so elusive, but amazingly, they live in cities a lot.