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Red
Fox Journal and Photos
by David J. White |
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Introduction
1: 2007
2: The Den 3: Night Visits
4: Lady 5: Prince 6: Princess
7: Kits at Play 8: Rivalry 9: Tracking 10: 2009 11: Fox Life 101 12: References and Links |
| 6: Princess |
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larger of the two females was named
"Princess". She had a smallish black
patch on her muzzle and only a few white hairs at the tail-tip. Unless
the lighting and angle were just right, her tail tip looked black. Of the three kits, she spent the most time around the house right from the start of the night visits. She was dominant over her sister and frequently chased her from the area, especially around the stump where the egg appeared. She and Prince, however, spent much time together and they obviously enjoyed each other's company. When I started putting out an egg on the stump each evening, the fox pups were coming after dark. But when the kits started to come around in early evening, I had to slip out with the egg earlier. And Princess started coming for the egg earlier, presumably to beat Prince to the treat. It probably didn't take long before she saw me bringing out the egg. Then she knew to head over to the stump for her treat as soon as I appeared outside---whether I was out to deliver the egg or just out to look at the garden. It wasn't my intention to be seen as the egg-provider but it was probably inevitable. As she got accustomed to eating the egg while I was still outside, I began to bring the camera out and sit down nearby to photograph her at closer range than from the deck. As long as I moved slowly and kept still once I sat down, she was pretty tolerant of my presence. And she would always circle around me first---presumably to make sure, by smell, that I was the real 'egg-guy'. It was a tremendous feeling to be so close to such a beautiful creature. But if I made a quick movement or an unexpected sound, she could bolt across the lawn in a flash. Once she got the egg, she would sometimes eat it next to the stump, but usually she would carefully carry it off a few metres to eat it. Behind our house is a shed for drying firewood. The sides and back are partially closed-in by vertical 1 by 6 boards spaced at most 7.5 cm (3 in) apart. For a week or two in late July, when she was about four months old, Princess occasionally spent the day between the firewood stacks in this shed. It was pretty amazing to watch her squeeze through one of these narrow openings. From early-July to early-September, there was rarely a day when Princess wasn't seen sometime during the day. And she spent quite a few days resting next to an outbuilding where she was visible from the house for much of the day. I took a lot of photos of Princess! She had a tremendous presence around the place and when you looked out and didn't see her, you just assumed that she was probably just out of sight around a corner, under the deck, or behind a rock on the hill. And you never knew where you were going to see her. It was such a wonderful treat to see this young fox so close on virtually a daily basis. If she decided to rest on the gravel next to one of the sheds, she would sometimes dig a shallow, saucer-shaped depression to curl up in. My friend and fellow fox-enthusiast Christine Hanrahan calls these "fox pits". In addition to strawberries, she also liked our garden raspberries and was quite adept at standing erect on her back legs to get choice berries up high. In early August, a couple of bare patches developed in her coat. She seemed to be scratching a lot and I thought deer fly bites might be the problem since she was out so much during the day. But as August went along, the spots grew into large sores and other areas showed hair loss. She was always scratching. Her deteriorating coat really stood out next to Prince's show-dog condition. Occasionally, she would be away for a day or two, and she often looked worse when she returned. By late August, her eyes were frequently swollen and she wasn't very energetic or alert. My wife and I had arranged to spend a week in early September at her family's cottage. As the time approached, I worried about Princess's ability to hunt or escape from coyotes in her poor condition. Just before leaving for the cottage, I stashed a week's-worth of eggs under the various decks and crawl spaces where she often sheltered. I disturbed her while placing one of the eggs and she quickly trotted off. Just as we were leaving, I got a glimpse in the rear-view mirror of Princess standing in the laneway watching us depart. It was to be the last sighting. When we returned, I saw that only one of the stashed eggs had been eaten. I suspect that she had mange and if the disease hadn't killed her directly, she probably fell prey to a coyote, or was hit by a car. It was a very sad end to a truly amazing experience. Continued in 7: Kits at Play. © David J. White 2009 |
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