So where were they?
Posted By Foxy Lady on May 22, 2012
We were beginning to wonder, this year.
Mrs Fox — and it is the same Mrs Fox as last year — had been hanging around the garden and definitely interested in the food we put out. Mr Fox was also occasionally to be seen. So, too, to our surprise, was another vixen — somewhat smaller than Mrs Fox, but certainly tolerated by her; we saw them curled up together in the sun a couple of times, on those rare occasions when there was sun!
We could tell that Mrs Fox was suckling cubs (the nipples are pretty obvious), but where were the cubs? We did wonder if perhaps the den was in a different garden and if Mrs Fox and the other vixen were just nipping into our garden in search of food. It was getting on towards the end of April and still we’d seen no cubs — not even overnight on Foxcam.
Foxy Lady and her other half went on holiday for a few days, leaving Foxy Lady Junior (FL’s sister) in charge. It didn’t take long… it was only two days after we’d left that the excited email came through: “FOX CUBS!!!!”
Foxy Lady confesses that one or two rude words may have passed her lips at that point.
It soon became clear that it wasn’t just “cubs”, it was “LOTS of cubs”. In fact we have a total of six this year!
They seemed to be a bit further advanced when first seen than the previous years’ cubs. We aren’t sure whether this was because Mrs Fox simply didn’t let them out of sight for a while longer, there being more of them (those of you who were reading last year may remember that there were only two cubs back then). Alternatively, perhaps the truly foul weather during April — persistent heavy rain — kept them under cover. It may also be the case that their “home” territory seems to be a bit further across the garden and out of Foxcam’s view.
We’re not sure — but we’re glad they’re out and about now…
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