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Posted by Ballpark Frank (69.178.8.75) on 23:53:08 08/14/15
In Reply to: Foxy posted by Seth
Seth,
That is a great fox photo.
I wonder if some visitors have been feeding that fox, which might explain its reluctance to leave the trail.
I have also witnessed a few cases in more densely populated areas in Colorado, where fox have become acclimated/habituated to humans, even in the absence of food rewards. In one instance, a female fox denned in a cavity between the cement porch/steps and my daughter's house. She and her kits stayed there until the young'uns were old enough to safely leave the den. Of course, everyone avoided using the front door during that period, and visitors were cautioned to leave that area alone.
I know of several instances of fox denning in close proximity to major highways, and another case of a fox denning year after year in the same residential backyard. In all these cases, local wildlife photographers were aware of the photo opp, and took advantage of it. They were all using telephoto lenses, so they didn't have to crowd the critters. I remember one particular circumstance where several of us were photographing a fox den, and cautioning non-photographers to keep their distance from the den. The next thing we knew, an adult fox casually strode right through the assemblage and crossed the two southbound lanes of a major highway, apparently making a "grocery" run.
In another case, in Yellowstone, three of us were doing a leisurely wander on the Northern Range, off-trail, between Junction Butte and the Lamar River. A fox walked right past us. Now that I think of it, there was another instance of a fox coming within close proximity of three of us, this time, out in the sage, near the old Howard Eaton trail, between Mammoth and Roosevelt. It's hard figuring what goes on in these canid heads. (They might be thinking the same thing about us!)
Ballpark
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