"The behaviour of the Red Fox most closely resembles that of feral cats".........."And like those "escaped cats", the Red fox is a synanthropic species which finds it very easy to live and thrive amongst us human animals — too familiar with us to greatly fear us; too independent of us to crave closer contact".............. "Before myth became history, did foxes consider the trade-offs involved and cast their fate with ours, then think better of it?"..........."Like us human animals, Red foxes are astonishingly adaptable, inhabiting most of the Northern Hemisphere, from above the Arctic Circle down deep into the tropics — deserts, alpine meadows, tropical rainforests, the Mongolian steppes, and the Siberian taiga"................ "But they are partial to our species and have hung around us so persistently as to inhabit a particular cranny of our collective imaginations, as evidenced by folklore, proverbs, and fables that go back for millennia, and, more recently, by nursery rhymes, children’s books, and animated cartoons"..............."They are never entirely wild and fearsome, but familiar and local, skulking around barnyards, henhouses, and rabbit hutches like pickpockets and shysters around country fairs and racetracks".............."In most stories, they outwit everybody, and then themselves".................."We apparently have a sneaking fondness for such sneaky fellows, and our stories generally let them off with nothing worse than a comeuppance and a bruise or two"...............'They will be back; the game will go on"

https://downeast.com/room-with-a-view-sept-2017/

ROOM 

WITH

 A

 VIEW

By Franklin Burroughs;Down East Magazine

Just inside the woods behind our kitchen, a feldspar
 outcropping was blasted about a century ago,
leaving a vertical ledge that looks like an ancient
 ruin. Ashes and maples have grown up in the rubble
 at its base; ferns and moss have colonized all but the
 steepest parts of it. For at least 50 years, porcupines have
 occupied one of its deeper crannies. They are model tenants.
 They mind their business; we mind ours. When we happen
upon one, it seems abashed and bustles off as best it can.

Early one morning this spring, I glanced out
 the kitchenwindow and found we had
 new tenants. A red fox cub sat on a flat rock under
 the bird feeder, about 30 feet away, staring
 intently in at me. I watched it until the coffee was
 ready.When I looked out after breakfast, it was
 curled up on therock and fast asleep. It was about
 the size of a six-week-old kitten, and just as fluffy.

It turned out to have two equally unshy
 siblings; the parentswere more circumspect.
 The vixen was much the smaller — subtract the tail and 
she was scarcely bigger than a housecat, perhaps half the
 size of her mate. She would hang back in the woods
 while the kits came out to sun, sleep, or frolic under the
 bird feeder. Within two weeks, both parents spent their 
days hunting, leaving the kits unsupervised. The kits
 began venturing farther from the den, sometimes  
together and sometimes separately.

Red Fox with Muskrat kill

Red foxes are astonishingly adaptable, inhabiting most of
the Northern Hemisphere, from above the Arctic Circle
down deep into the tropics — deserts, alpine meadows,
tropical rainforests, the Mongolian steppes, and the
Siberian taiga. But they are partial to our species, and have
 hung around us so persistently as to inhabit a particular
cranny of our collective imaginations, as evidenced by
 folklore, proverbs, and fables that go back for millennia,
 and, more recently, by nursery rhymes, children’s books,
 and animated cartoons. They are never entirely wild and
fearsome, but familiar and local, skulking around barnyards,
 henhouses, and rabbit hutches like pickpockets and shysters
 around country fairs and racetracks. In most stories, they
 outwit everybody, and then themselves. We apparently
have a sneaking fondness for such sneaky fellows, and
 our stories generally let them off with nothing worse
 than a comeuppance and a bruise or two. They will be
back; the game will go on.

As they grew accustomed to us, the kits would sit and
watch, cocking their ears quizzically when spoken to, or
else prancing flirtatiously. In my experience, this
 endearing behavior is typical, as though kits cannot
 decide whether people represent threats or potential
playmates. Even adult foxes, at a safe distance, sit and
study us attentively: they the ornithologists and we the
 birds. Their behavior most closely resembles that of
 feral cats — too familiar with us greatly to fear us; too
independent to crave closer contact.

Before myth became history, did foxes —
 like dogs, cats, chickens, and livestock —
 consider the trade-offs involvedand cast
 their fate with ours, then think better of
 it after a few eons? Throughout the historical
 past we have trapped,hunted, hounded, and
 poisoned them to the best of ourability.
 Samson caught them by the hundreds,
 set theirtails on fire, and became a hero
of the highest order.Yet they don’t dread
us and can’t quite leave us. Behind their
 predatory opportunism and our persecution
 there seems to be a sort of reproachful
longing for amight-have-been that neither
 species can quite ignore.

------------------------------------------

https://www.thecanidproject.com/
articles/2017/8/21/seeing-more-red-foxes-in
-your-neighborhood-or-town-heres-why

Seeing More Red 

Foxes in Your

 Neighborhood or 

Town? Here’s Why…

Amy Shutt and Brittany Crossman; August 21, 2017