Feet Don't Fail Me Now... Another Day In The Wild Kingdom That I Call Home

I've still been avoiding the garden until Felicia (our resident fox) gets her pups raised and off on their own. Don't get me wrong here. I'm not staying away because I'm scared of the foxes. I'm staying away so that she won't find it necessary to move them before it's time. If the mama fox feels her babies are in danger, she will move them to a new and undisclosed location, which I don't want to see happen. I like my little wards. I like them even if it means everything I've planted in the garden is going to die. I can replant soon for a late summer and fall garden.

However, yesterday I decided to go out and peek over the fence to see if they were all there. Sure enough, they were. All three pups were outside playing and as soon as Felicia heard me, she somehow related to the pups to get in the den… Pronto! This is the picture I got. I knew they moved fast, but you'll get a huge kick out of this picture of one of the pups, in full run mode. View the enlargement by clicking on the picture. You won't be sorry.

Did you know that the gray fox is the only member of the dog family that can climb trees? Yes, it's true. But, what I really find fascinating about foxes is that they are monogamous, which means they have only one mate for one mating season. Hey, that's more than I can say for millions of humans.

From what I've been able to read, The Grey Fox mates from February to March, bearing their young from April to May, having a gestation period of about 50 to 55 days. (Seriously, I would have had a lot more kids had my gestation period been that short.) They usually have between 3 and 7 pups that are dark brown in color. They are blind for the first ten days. They are allowed out of their den after about 5 weeks and are usually weaned by the time they are 10 weeks old. This is when the father stays gone a major part of the time, to hunt for food. The family remains together until late fall, then separates, spending the winter in solitary.

It's curious that we seldom see one during the winter months, which leads me to think they almost hibernate like a bear. I do enjoy them living on our property and having their babies here. It makes me feel like Snow White or Doctor Doolittle… You know, talk to the animals and all.... In My Dreams.