THE FOX FAMILIES…a long term project pays off

Funny how friends, even though aware of your obsession with the natural world, sometimes to forget to mention things. So it was when my best friend three years ago, after just moving into a new house in the foothills of the South Downs in East Sussex stated, ‘Oh yeah we always got Foxes in the garden”. So the last two years I have been observing this amazing family..or I should say two families. To keep it short, last year (2023) the Dog and Vixen only seemed to raise two maybe three cubs so opportunities were slim. However with no immediate nearby threats (a very safe den in an enclosed 9 acre garden) they started to tolerate humans much more encouraged no doubt by the odd scrap and stealing the family’s four pet dogs food and bones !

Then this year I started to observe the magic. Clearly one of last years cubs had taken up residence close to her parents and it quickly became clear that both the mother and daughter were both pregnant. After many weeks underground the story unfolded with both Vixens and the Dog Fox appearing with at first one, then two and finally up to eight cubs. As best as I could surmise after hundreds of hours in my hide, three were from the younger Vixen but it all became blurred as the one huge family interracted and worked as one. I’ve never seen it before but the text books say possible when there is enough food and therefore enough for everyone to limit fighting and competition. The lady of the house was by this time putting out small amounts of unwanted cat food 5-6 evenings a week and all cubs grew up incredibly healthy as were the adults. A total joy to observe. The sad thing is my friends have now moved so they reduced, then stopped, feeding the family several months before and yet having got past the dangerous young stage all the Foxes looked happy and healthy right up to the move date. Had I known about their move earlier I would have filmed them for a YouTube video but such is the nature of wildlofe photography and the old lesson stands true? Never let opportunities in nature go unrecorded as they can be so fleeting. I’ll miss my Fox friends, from the old scar-faced Vixen to “Runty” the smallest and chippiest cub who regularly pushed away his much bigger siblings but I am reassured that this particular family had the best possible start in what can for Foxes. be a very tough life. Here are a few images to enjoy