It happened just before the first blush of dawn: The family living next door to the empty house under which the foxes had their den was awakened by a series of loud yips. Upon opening their window they saw the mother vixen standing firmly in front of her den vigilantly trying to fend off a large gray coyote. They shouted and shrieked and fortunately, the coyote trotted off. Very, very scary! The leading causes of fox deaths are sarcoptic mange, being struck by cars, and attacked by coyotes. Attracted at first by the smell of fragments of kill left around and in the den, a coyote will dig into a fox's den and decimate the young. But thankfully, this mama vixen's yips of distress found her a human allies.
Please don't think I bear coyotes any ill-will. I find them fascinating creatures--handsome, clever, and they are wonderful parents. This fellow--or lady--was just trying to make a living or simply struggling to feed its own litter of pups. I plan to go into detail about coyotes in a future blog, but today I must focus on the foxes who, for those of you who have been following this blog know, have stolen my heart.
Things seemed to go from bad to worse in "Foxville." Neighbors reported no activity around the den. I was so afraid the coyote returned. But then a call from a friend who lives just two houses down the street: she had a family of six fox kits! A different litter? After all, sibling foxes and mother foxes will often den in the same area. But up until then, and just two days after the coyote crisis, my friend hadn't seen any kits. I e-mailed her recent photos of the "pre-coyote" kits. They appeared to her to be about the same age. So if that was true she should have seen them at least three weeks earlier. I drove over to have a look. I set up my little stadium seat on the grass pasture about a hundred feet from her barn--further than I'd ever positioned myself from their den. If this was family that had been assaulted by a coyote I thought I should keep a respectful non-threatening distance.
I waited two hours then, finally, one kit, then two kits, then three kits emerged.
Hmm! I couldn't say for sure these were the same kits They did look similar but perhaps this was simply their shared "foxiness." Or, to further explain their similarities, they could be first cousins or aunts and uncles, even. But then Mama Vixen appeared bearing gifts:
I recognized that gray winter coat giving way to red and that earnest sweet face. This was the vixen who didn't flee but stood her ground for her little ones. She has successfully relocated her litter and to a better place. This den was further from the road and the barn had several entrances and exits so they would not be trapped.
And then--first come first served!
It's all mine!
Into the den!
But you mustn't think that the other kits didn't get their share. I have noticed that the vixen often will give the first kit her entire catch and the one that grabs it will run around like a little basketball player hiding the ball. But this time I noticed that she deposited the hapless rodent at the bottom of a tree and pulled off a large chunk. That's what the first kit got. She then returned to the tree and brought out the remainder:
So it was heartening to see it wasn't a strictly "survival of the fittest" dinner hour in "Foxville", at least, not that night.
I've put together another fox slide show comprised of "post-coyote" pictures. I hope you enjoy it:
(If you have trouble viewing this youtube please click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWl9f0K9Uko or please go to you tube and search "thewindflowerfarm.")
I leave you with one final photo of "Mama Vixen" who must truly be a "Gold Star Mother" in the fox world!
Thank you for reading my blog. Next blog we will be back to the horses, and, Dolly. But I will, of course, bring you another update on the Concord Fox family.
Until then and, "May the fox be with you!"
Ainslie Sheridan
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