i spend quite a bit of time of late (when I can get it) exploring the derelict rail infrastructure around this area, I've got used to getting glimpses of foxes darting off. The only encounter that got me was when I put my head round the door of a storage shed and a fox stared back at me for a good 10 seconds before heading off, there was just that moment where I thought 'this is a fairly desperate wild animal with sharp teeth and I'm a big lump of unarmed flesh'.

In my last house in Jupiter Farms FL I had a pair of foxes den under my deck. They raised 3 litters of kits and they were all semi friendly with me. The Mom used to sit a few feet away while the babies would run around me, ignoring me for all practical purposes...Dad was always more aloof. They always got more skitish when they grew up which was just fine for me as I wasn't trying to domesticate them. They did like homemade biscuits however :yum:

Here are some pictures of them.

FD

One more image ... cute little buggers .....

Which one is the fox?
I guess the one with the red hair.
I believe any species can be domesticated with years & years & generation after generation of breeding & environmental control.
The fox, if I had to guess, would be one of the most difficult to domesticate.
These guys ARE beautiful!
Folks are always fuckin with nature. I'm sure they are adorable pets. I still think maybe we should leave at least SOME species alone and let the planet turn as it always has.
I can imagine my great grandkids telling their kids...." yeah, these animals used to be one of the wildest, most free & independant creatures ever........."
I just hope they don't wind up on the storyline with the buffalo.
I wonder if the blue eyes are a sign of strength or weakness in the genetic code. Code may not be the right word, but you know what the hell I mean. I will research that. There's good odds a fellow-cellarite already knows. C'mon ...........I'm lazy.

Foxes in PA are on the decline because of rabies and being displaced by coyotes which are bigger, more agressive and seek the same habitat.

A few years ago I was following an abandon railroad track near my house and found a dead red fox. It was in the fall when their fur is primo and the carcass was in perfect condition. Since there was no clue as to the cause of death, I brought it home and called the Game Commision to see if they wanted to check it out. No.

I buried it but saved that gorgeous tail and hung it over one of my work benchs down cellar. A couple of weeks later I discovered the cats had used it for a punching (clawing) bag, stripping half the hair off. Damnit. :(

Spotted one on Weds.

FloridaDragon, did you get to see any of those greys do their tree climbing trick?

Very cool! I live in Pleasanton, CA, about 5 minutes south of Dublin. Where in Dublin did you live? Most of Dublin now has been urbanized and commercialized. Maybe the west side near San Ramon Valley Boulevard and the forested ridge? Or in the eastern rolling country (before construction presumably drove all wildlife away)?

Never saw them climb trees ... can they do that? One fun thing - I used to go out there at night when the kits were more active and try to take their picture (was using a 35mm back then) ... well they would not stand still long enough for me to focus and take the picture...but I noticed they were eating the june beetles that would hit the flood lights and drop...so I would grab a bug, focus on a specific spot and drop the bug there .... click! Have to dig those old paper photos out of the closet one of these days and scan them. The first picture I uploaded is still my favorite...looks like he/she is winking at you.

OK, maybe it is too obvious, but someone has to type it:
I guess I might too, if that was my handler...

There. I did it.

I've seen wild foxes in the Catskills in NY State. They are lovely creatures, witha self-contained air about them.

Never saw them climb trees ... can they do that?

Yeah -- grey foxes will scoot up a tree, find a branch, and take a nap. They're the only fox that can climb like that.

I'd love to see the pictures you took!

Probably a lot of that is also loss of habitat to humans. In my area, they are building an over-55 community called FoxField. Of course, the first thing you do when building a community is remove the reason for the community's name. If the community is called "Singing Oaks", the first order of business is that all of the oak trees are cut down. The first fox I saw here, about a year ago, was after they started clearing the land. I haven't seen one since, but since I saw this one about dusk, they might be keeping to themselves until dark. This is fine by me, since I do worry about rabies in the population.

Up here we have a pretty good population of gray and red foxes. Last summer I saw a bunch of red fox kits cavorting by my Dads pond. I think they are living in a den surrounded by multiflora rose and black berry briars. I'm not sure if the adults were picking off juvenile canadian geese for food but they seemed very well fed etc... Rabies is a big problem here as well.

I actually see them fairly often. Living in a moderatly rural town in SOuth Carolina helps. I live about 30 minutes out of Charleston. The sad part is I see quite a few more dead ones then live ones. But the live ones are breath taking. Many of the native species here have made minor come backs in the last decade or so. Though the area is growing rapidlty there is a push to make the neighborhoods more like parks since people want to live in that old Carolina feel. This has helped some.

Foxes are just one of the great animals we have seen lately. Bald eagles have been nesting nearby again. Various raptors of all types (out state has a breeding program for them) Hell my dog got chased by a great horned owl the other night. Of late I have also seen wild mink, and in the nearby Beidler forest that I occasionally drive through at night there are wolves again were there weren't any a few years ago. You think a fox is impressive, try staring down a wild wolf. Even in the car that is an awesome sight. BUt there are little furry critters that arent as cute but equally important to the ecosphere. Why heres one now!