[I say "suddenly ..." in that way as a literary device to indicate that the yippy trill didn't come on gradually. One second it was not there, the next it was TOTALLY THERE right behind me. I say "right behind me" to indicate he was RIGHT BEHIND ME.]
It was dark, after sunset, but we could see his sly self slinking around us. Annie ran inside (to get a flashlight, whatever), and he and I faced off. He advanced a little on me several times, and I discouraged him with some high-pitched vocalizations (screaming, whatever) of my own.
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| Kit fox. He looks handmade to me. |
He was about as big as one of our cats (not the big one). He was pale enough to be picking up what light there still was, and one of us for dinner. [The slower one. Annie, why are you lacing up your sneakers?]
He skirted our camp for a while, although he claimed that we were circling his. We learned that there are probably kit kittens around somewhere close, or there are just about to be. Squeee! He eats mice, sometimes cactus fruit, and RVers with cankles. I finished my beer indoors.
36 comments:
Look at those ears. Those are ears meant to radiate excess heat.
Yes! I read that, too.
Maybe she was thirsty - Did you offer her some beer? New Moms are known to drink beer to help their milk.
What a lucky sighting. Too bad Annie was so slow with the camera/flashlight. Don't be afraid. And NO feeding it beer!
When I stopped screaming, I was clutching my beer, so no. I didn't share.
Gaelyn, I thought all those critters are supposed to be 'more afraid of me than I am of them.' This one didn't seem very afraid, so I made up for it.
I heard somewhere that fox likes duck. Preferably well done - LOL - run, duck, run! Quoth will soon be there to help, if he ever figures out how to turn off his anti-gravity device. :)
Hahaha! Hurry, Quoth! Hurry!
Ahhh...I think he's cute (I assume he looks like the one in the picture?)
I assume that, too. It was too dark to resolve his little foxy face.
And more importantly.... an actual AngelFire.com link???
I fear the distant cry of the cobweb Geocities lurking in the darkness...
*It just takes one mistake, and I gotta delete the whole thing and start over*
And therein lies the huge difference between cat ownership and dog ownership.
If we step into the "Way Back Machine", and go back to the days of my "yout", we find ourselves in the midst of haying season. We would have to sequester our dog after supper time (it's a Down East expression, go with it) if we were about to head out to bring in one last load of hay. There would always be foxes in the headlights of the tractor, and if "Blackie", (um ya, such an original name, but we wuz simple farm folk, cut me some slack) happened to spot one, he'd BE GONE ALL NIGHT. Not that that was a completely bad thing, except he'd arrive home in the morning all filthy with a few burrs stuck to his hind end. And guess whose job that was?
So my guess is that this young feller was a little bit stupid, OR some silly bugger had been feeding the wild life. Never a good thing. Never. He could end up dead.
Hey, better than a skunk! But that would be another trip in the "Way Back Machine".
Only ever saw a Kitt Fox once & that was near Borrego Springs, California a few years ago. It was a fleeting glance as it darted past through some Creosote bushes just after sundown.... A.
I'm envious! I've never seen a kit fox in the wild... what an experience!
Can't stop chuckling over "high pitched vocalizations". Too funny and what a great image.
Yikes, Roxi--another possibility is rabies. When wild critters have no fear of humans & show unusual behavior, it can be because they are infected. I hope it is not that. Nevertheless, funny story, between the vocalizations & cankles....
This reminds me of my run-in with a gang of javelinas down in big Bend several years ago. Unnerving, I tell ya. Thanks for the chuckles. It's always funny in hindsight....
VERY funny story - exceptionally well told! I too would have been a bit worried when he didn't run off. I agree with Jac. But boy what a thrill to see such a fabulous creature. Hope s/he was just curious or protecting family rather than sick. But out there in the wilds of that desert just about anything can happen. Better keep on your toes - both of you. And send a picture of that please.
What a cool encounter. I would have been like you and had some scared little girl vocalizations. :)
Ha, Ish! Yeah, it's pretty Geocities-y, but they are wav. files rather than midis. All else remains the same.
Bob, you're saying I got off easy with this encounter, aren't you? No burrs in hind ends, not much filth. "Suppertime" sound pretty natural, so I must have been Down East enough to use it.
Al, I would have been just as happy with a fleeting glance! I was also thinking what Jac and Sherry mentioned, because that's a situation I'm more familiar with, but with raccoons.
It could also be that, being kitten time, his behavior was different. We may be too near the den for his comfort. I do hope he's not expecting food, because I don't share. So, I'm going to keep my eye on things, not feed him, and protect my cankles.
Sharon, it was cool, I have to admit, but I didn't like his repeated advances! No means no, mister!
Teresa, I have to know details now! I want to see them, but I hear they're aggressive and smelly. I forgive smelly.
Yeah, Sherry, it's kinda frontierlike out here! I hope he's fine, and just nervous because it's time for babies, or there are new babies nearby. Picture of us on our toes can't be far behind.
Lou, it's all fun and games until someone busts a larynx.
Janie, I'm sure we scream like that because it's so annoying and ridiculous to the "predator." Our screams are rap beats coming out of a Ford Pinto.
I'm not sure if I would have been more scared or more excited at actually seeing a kit fox in the wild. But I, too, would have been pretty leary of his aggressive behavior. Probably would have headed inside very rapidly.
An excellent argument to carry a handgun when out in the wild. Or most anywhere else.
OMG!!! to cute and way tooooo funny...
Have fun
Donna
JC, I find that obvious mental illness works almost as well. But, a handgun and mental illness - that's a winning combo.
Thanks, Donna! I think I hear your engines firing already, yeah?
We saw a fox in Zion. He was spectacular! Good though you took cover before a grand attack! LOL
Very good call finishing the beer indoors.
So you're still carrying around those mice, huh?
Cool. I have not yet seen a fox close up. I did have a coyote standing between me and the women's restroom at the Saguaro National Park campground a couple of months ago. I was very serious about getting to the restroom, so I used my outdoor voice and told it to "Git!" It did. Whew! I don't know what I would've done if it hadn't.
Levonne, did he trill at you? Wasn't it terrifying?
Nowhere, I thought it was the better part of valor. Really, the only part of valor I exhibited.
Chris, not anymore! We threw them out to the fox as appeasement.
HAHA Sue! Well done. The restroom would have become moot as soon as I saw the coyote.
Jim and Sandie, that was the part that kinda willied me, the advances. I'm drinking my beer indoors tonight.
I think you should start a "life list" of ferocious wild animals that you spot. This would be similar to birders' life lists.
So many people have never seen a fox like this and yet you have been privileged to share vocalization time with one.
I look forward to the next entry on such a life list. LG
L, thank goodness you didn't say BUCKET list! That would be fun. Can I count the roadrunner? He was pretty ferocious with Wile E. Coyote. And, it's true. Not many people get all high-pitched with a fox.
Awww..."Here, Kitty-kitty!"
Haha! That's just what Annie said ... from inside the Duck.
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