Family photos

When this all started a month ago it was almost always the dog fox that arrived first, either to check that the coast was clear for the cubs or to be first to the food.  Since then the number of cubs in the garden has increased from one to five and the parents have been here less and less often, as if they are leaving the food for the cubs.  So it was good to see both parents here together for once.  The dog fox to the left is greyer while the vixen has a darker back.

They were joined by a cub that is almost as big as its mother already.

Then a second cub but they wouldn't keep still so the photos are a bit blurred (the shutter speed in the low light is only 1/60s).

I haven't yet managed a picture of both parents with all the cubs.  I see three or four cubs together every night.

Most often they get along well but there is always an undercurrent of competition.

The change from peanuts to dog biscuits has also meant that the cubs spend more time collecting and stashing food which also makes them more difficult to catch all together.  It will be interesting to see how things develop over the next few weeks as they get older.