For the love of foxes

I’d hoped to share a finished project today, but last night work got in the way.  But next week is going to be chock-full of the results of fun projects!  I absolutely can not wait to show you guys all the neat stuff that’s coming together over here!

In the mean time, I’ll leave you with my wish for a fabulous weekend, as well as some shots of the neighborhood’s wildlife.

This is one of the red foxes who was born this past spring on our block.  His siblings look gorgeous (and move quite fast, hence no photos), but he’s suffering.

Lately this little guy has been hanging around in the streets and front yards more during the day, and this morning I caught him doing some investigating in the neighbor’s yard. I got several photos before he looked up at me, startled.   For a few moments his eyes met mine, and he hesitated.  Then he nervously ambled on.

He kept dipping his head into the bucket; I don’t know if he’s looking for food/water or just investigating, but I made a mental note to let my neighbors know when they’re home.

I’m very worried about him, because he’s clearly suffering from Sarcoptic Mange – hence the severe hair loss and scabbing – and he may be underweight.  (Foxes are pretty lithe under all their bushy fur, so I’m not sure.)  I’ve called my town’s animal control and they said they usually don’t interfere, unless the animal is stumbling around on the brink of death.

Thanks to this little guy, my heart is now being broken on an almost-daily basis.  As an animal lover, it sucks to see the local wildlife suffering, especially to this degree.  But I know that if I tried to leave food out for him, I’d be doing more harm than good.  Sometimes, no matter how hard it is, you have to let nature take its course.  But it’s a total bummer when you see natural selection at work in your backyard.

Interested in a scarier tale of wildlife encounters?  Hop over to my adventure blog to read about my mountain-top grizzly bear encounter.