Woodland Fox

I had headed out on a summer evening with the intention of finding whitetail deer, I was just a few hundred feet from where I was going to park when, to my delight I spotted this red fox dash across the trail ahead of me, clutching a squirrel in its jaws. The fox continued on as if it had not noticed my presence. I stopped my car, got out, knelt down and hoped an opportunity would present itself.

Just as I was thinking all I am going to get is a fox tail (its rear end) the fox stopped in its tracks and dropped its prize on the ground. The fox then did two tight little circles and settled down in front of a tree. Lying motionless in front of the dead squirrel, it looked almost as if it was having a staring contest for a few brief moments. The fox then sat up and trained its eyes on me. I released the shutter 4 times, this image being the 3rd in the series, the one with the most direct eye contact.

Then, just as quickly as the fox appeared, it hopped to all four feet, turned and trotted off into the distance, leaving its catch behind! Like many wildlife encounters, fast and fleeting! I thought for sure the fox would return for the squirrel, I waited for a little while and with no further sign of the fox, I moved on. As I was departing later in the evening, I saw that the squirrel was still where the fox dropped it, so I walked over to investigate it. The squirrel was as stiff as a board, it was my belief that the fox found the squirrel already deceased and decided it wouldn’t be quite as satisfying a meal as it had hoped for.