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Nice backyard surprise.

7K views 22 replies 13 participants last post by  MariaMur 
#1 ·
I'm assuming a her with a den nearby. First time I caught her laying beside the tomatoes I scared her off resetting a focus point. 15 minutes later she was back and I had my head outa my a$$ this time. Is that tail excellent or what!
Foxy (second try) by Glenn Hanson, on Flickr
 
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#6 ·
My daughter has one that visits regularly. I'm glad to see them. Foxes usually disappear after coyotes show up - coyotes don't like the competition.

I used to watch a den at Skokie Lagoons way back when. It was in a pretty remote area & it was so cool to be able to sit & watch them play with their kits.

I think the last fox I saw was a gray fox at Thatcher Woods several winters ago. That was a rare sighting!
 
#7 ·
Very cool. My parents have had a red fox family living in the culvert under their driveway for years and years. It has stretched for probably 20-25 years, if not more, so I'm guessing multiple generations have made that their "den". Always liked them. Cool little creatures.

Fun fact: The young of a mated pair will remain with the parents for a year or two after their birth to help care for the litters that come after their own.
 
#9 ·
Great pictures!
Saw one run across Cicero Ave. in Oak Lawn, late one night. It ran up onto someone's front porch. Might've had a den underneath.
Lots of coyotes around out there too. Saw a "pack" of them in the Richard's H.S. practice field making a bunch of noise. Police shined a spotlight on them for a minute. Was pretty cool to see. One of the benefits of working the night shift all those years; the critters are out and about.
 
#11 ·
Well, It is a well known fact that foxes prefer well manicured yards and landscape. :wink: Might be why i never see em in my yard. Unlike the coyote :lol:
Another cool shot.
I like how female Foxes are called "Vixen"

Saw one out in Dekalb a few years ago, first one in 40 years. :wtf: Never seen one around Busse :(

They look like they'd be a cool pet. Then again, Squirrels do too :lol:
 
#12 ·
Jim - back in the 80s there was a fox den between the south pool & the hill. Used to go back there & watch them from time-to-time.

Then coyotes showed up & they were gone.
 
#20 ·
badger75 said:
RonG said:
I'll never forget what the fox did to the crocodile.
I missed something.....RonG….
Care to explain.
True story, not my words, though:

There was a fox who lived by a river. The fox wished to cross the river and, because it could not swim, it asked the help of a crocodile which lived close by. The crocodile said that he would be happy to help. All the fox would have to do was climb upon his back and the crocodile would swim him across.

The fox was afraid of the crocodile. But he dearly wished to reach the other side of that river, and there appeared to be no other way that he could do so. He was too heavy to be carried by any of the birds. Besides, the birds were afraid of him. He'd been known to eat many a bird- and even to kill them just for his pleasure- so the bird-method of getting across was definitely not on.

So, the fox was stuck with the crocodile. Or he thought he was. So the fox said to the crocodile that he would let the crocodile to take him across the river- provided he be allowed to take a short, stout, stick with him.

The crocodile thought about that...

The crocodile was renowned for his cunning
'Short, stout, stick- what on earth does he want with that?" Does he think that he can club me when we get out in the river and use me as a raft? Huh! What a fool. I have such a thick hide and tough skull. He won't be able to hurt me. Still, that fox is no fool. He is renowned for his cunning. Still, in this instance I believe I have his measure.'

So the crocodile agreed to let the fox carry the short, stout, stick with him as he climbed upon his broad and scaly back.

Out from the bank the crocodile made his move. Quickly he rolled upon his back, throwing the fox into the water. Instantly he opened his jaws as wide as he could to swallow the fox. But the cunning fox had predicted this move and had that stout stick ready. The fox turned his head sideways - with that short, stout, stick protruding from each side of his own jaws. He pushed his head down inside that hungry croc's mouth. Yes, past those ravenous jaws, that thick tongue, and those wicked, curling yellow teeth. The fox pushed down as far as he could and -yes, you guessed it- the stick became wedged in the crocodile's jaws and he could neither open or close his mouth.

The fox now had the upper hand. He climbed back atop the crocodile and said:

" If you swim me to the other side, as promised, I shall remove that stick."

The crocodile had no choice. If it did not swim the sly old fox to the other side of the river, that short, stout, stick would remain wedged in its throat, keeping its jaws open and it would not be able to survive for long. So, naturally, it agreed. It had to, really. For it there was no other choice.

You see, the crocodile and the fox had never made any friends. They were fearful of making friends with one another, for there was no trust between them. They had never bothered to make friends with anyone. If they had done so, the problems they were both encountering would not have occurred.

And yes, both the fox and the crocodile had a problem now. The crocodile would swim to the river's bank, but there was no guarantee that the fox would remove
that stick. The fox probably wouldn't. For it realized that if it did so, the crocodile would be free to snap it up as soon as they reached the shore.

The fox, on the other hand had already made up its mind that the crocodile would snap it up. If it got the chance. The crocodile was also pretty sure that the fox would not remove that stick. So the crocodile thought to itself, 'Maybe I can make a bargain here.'

The trickery continues
"I shall take you to the bank." said the croc. "But I shall take you to the bank you just came from. I'll take you back there. If I take you back there, and you take that stick out of my mouth, I shall then take you across to the side you wish to go to. What do you think of that?"

Well, the fox knew that it had to get off of that crocodile's back with safety. It thought for a while. Then it said.
"No. I don't think so. If I you take me back to that side of the river again, how do I know you won't eat me as soon as I remove the stick?"

"I'll allow you to get another stick first." said the croc. "You get that other stick, and then you can take the first one out. You'll have a second one with which to replace it."

The fox thought. 'No. That croc can still eat me at any time.' Instead it answered thus:

"Take me to the far bank. Take me to the bank of the river I wish to go to and then I shall get another stick."

So who won and why?
"All right," said the crocodile. It had been fooled by its own suggestion. It did not occur to the crocodile that the fox would have already have reached its destination, and would certainly have no need to return to it with another stick.

And so the crocodile swam the remaining distance to the far shore - where the fox left it to die.

The moral of this story is that the animal with the most cunning always wins the day.
 
#23 ·
Oh I love foxes. I have had a study about their life and their behavior. I don't understand why people ignore them. For example, in the UK, these animals are treated very well and you can even meet them in the parks. Speaking of the animals that I love, I would also like to add that I think the raccoon removal is an important issue. I mean, they damage our community a lot by expanding their mess everywhere and I am tired of cleaning the mess in my yard. We called an inspection that deals with it.
 
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