Foxes on the lawn

It is over six months since the garden foxes featured on this blog.  In the last few days the vixen has been turning up earlier (ie before my bedtime) but she has been shy and wary of the bright security light.  In recent days she has become more used to it and is hungry as she obviously has cubs to feed.

Three nights ago the dog turned up as well but he sat at a respectful distance while she ate all the food, only coming over in the hope that she had missed something after she had moved on.  For the past two nights she has arrived first but he has turned to join her (after she had eaten the chicken bits) and the two of them were unconcerned by the light. Here he is on the left as they eat the biscuits.

Here he is on the right.

This is the dog.  I think it is a different animal from last year's dog fox who was greyer and had three distinctive white scars on his right back leg.

I think the vixen is probably different from last year as well (again redder and less grey) but it is difficult to be sure.

A couple of videos from last night.  The first shows the vixen finding the last bit of chicken skin and then eating some biscuits.

In the second she doesn't seem too thrilled when the dog turns up.  Noice how her tail curls towards him - a warning to keep his distance and not to pinch all the food.  When he goes round her her tail follows him to the other side to maintain the warning.  I remember seeing that in the cubs from last year.  The ear flattening is a defensive posture as well.

At present the foxes are arriving at about 9.30pm, after dark and after all the dog-walkers and joggers have disappeared.  Their cubs are probably about two months old but won't yet be leaving the den.  In the previous two years the cubs arrived in the garden in mid June.  They have to be big enough to travel from wherever the den is and to climb over the rabbit fence to get into the garden.  I'll keep watching and hope to post some photos if they arrive.