A trio of young fox enjoy some evening play time while one of their parents watches over them. It seems as though the young ones are getting more and more ready to venture out on their own, as this was down the road a ways from their den. The adults are letting them explore the world around them. Last night I watched them wander all around a half-mile stretch of road, running into the woods in one spot then popping back out onto the road 1/4 mile from where they went in. They seemed to be having a lot of fun last night! I have a feeling this may have been their first foray away from the den, other than the immediate area right around the den. It seemed like they were exploring the world for the first time. In all likelihood they've probably been doing this for at least a few nights already, but who knows.
I first noticed this fox family a few weeks ago when Jessica and I were driving up to the community garden and we saw two little fox kits poking their heads out from the shoulder of the road. A couple of days later we saw one of the parents carrying a big rabbit back to the den right in the same spot where we had seen the kits. But, until last night, I had been unsuccessful in getting any photos of them. Last night I was driving up to the garden again and they were all out in the road. I pulled over and watched them for at least half an hour. It sure was fun!
At first I was worried that they were so active right out on the road, but this is an old road with very little traffic. At one point I did hear a car coming and it sounded like it was going rather fast (which it was). But, the adult fox heard it coming too and barked a warning to the kits, which then promptly ran off the road into the woods. The adult kept watch as the car zoomed by, then the kits came back out onto the road. They are pretty smart animals :-)
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