The Babyhood of Wild Beasts/Chapter 18
CHAPTER XVIII
baby foxes
LITTLE baby Foxes are darlings. Their faces are round and chubby, set with eyes as bright as beads. Their little bodies are fat and round, and their fur is soft, woolly and abundant. From five to six is the usual number born in a litter. They are born blind as little kittens are. As they mature, the face grows pointed, the tail develops into a handsome brush, the legs lengthen and the little fat body takes on a longer and more graceful outline.
The mother fox is very devoted to her babies. With great caution she keeps them safely hidden in the burrow whenever there is the slightest danger of their presence being discovered. When convinced that there are no prowlers lurking about, she leads them out of their murky, dark burrow up into the green world. She encourages them to dig in the soft, warm earth and get the use of their helpless little paws. Then she leads them into the cool grass and teaches them to pounce onto fat grasshoppers and juicy crickets. The wood mice, moles and shrews are the first real game the little fellows try to stalk. It is not long before they can leap onto a Mollie Cottontail rabbit and dispatch her.
Little foxes are playful and good natured, and take kindly to other animals, unless excited by their parents' aversion to the creature. They are very keen and learn the ethics of animal existence and the laws of the wild very quickly. Our Chinese cook caught a baby fox in a kind of trap known as the figure 4. The fox was not bruised in this trap—was taken home and treated with kindness. He showed affection for humans, especially for the Chinaman who fed and cared for him. He became as devoted as a brother and showed no inclination to escape. However, I expect, when he matures, he will become lonely for his own kind, and long to join them.
I know a baby fox who is the pet of a friend of mine. This little fox's name is Reynard, and he is the favoured member of the family. He has a pretty chain and collar and wears it gracefully. He loves to go riding in the automobile with the family. He runs about the house at will and romps with the children and he has a little mattress of his own and sleeps on the fire escape. Reynard is especially fond of the baby and the kitten. He gets excited at the sight of a chicken with feathers on it.—I suppose it's an instinct inherited from his poultry-loving ancestors whose nocturnal visit to the chicken coop is an old, but sad story.
The fox is an omnivorous feeder. Anything from a fat goose to a cluster of sweet grapes or berries makes a strong appeal to his sensitive palate. The wild wood mice, rabbits, partridges, wild ducks, with an occasional taste of wild honey—(when he can steal it without getting too badly stung) make up his favourite diet. When stung by angry bees, he makes for the brook and plasters his wounds with mud and clay to draw out the poison. In times of stress he has been known to tackle the formidable porcupine and dispatch it without injury from the terrible quills of that much dreaded little beast. When attacked, the porcupine rolls himself into a ball with his tender nose hidden between his strong paws. The belly of the porcupine is not protected by quills. Mr. Fox, with his marvellous cunning, knows this. So, with a great pretence of making a hole for himself in the snow, he digs with all his might and main a few feet from Mr. Porcupine. After burrowing a few feet, he begins tunnelling upward directly under the creature. With an upward leap and a vicious snap, he bites clear through the heart of the prickly fellow. It's an easy job to rip the skin open on the soft little stomach and finish the repast.
In the bitter winter weather, Mr. Fox's keen nose discovers the scent of the partridge, who has burrowed in the snow to keep warm. So our cunning fox begins digging madly for the juicy morsel. Sometimes Old Lady Partridge is too shrewd for this cunning fellow, and makes a rapid exit with her powerful wings, leaving him chagrined and ashamed of being outwitted by a mere bird. Foxes relish bird's eggs and hunt the woods assiduously for this delicate tid-bit.
When pursued by dogs, the Fox covers his trail
 |
| Courtesy of American Museum of Natural History |
| Mama Red Fox has brought her children their first chicken. I am afraid Farmer Jones will be looking for her with a gun. Can you remember your first chicken? |
 |
| Courtesy of American Museum of Natural History |
| After knowing this dear little, furry white baby, would you care to wear a Baby Arctic Fox skin around your neck? |
A fox pursued by dogs has been known to leap onto a low shed roof, run the length of it, leap onto a cow shed, and with a bound spring to the ground, thus breaking the trail. A fox, when pursued, will never run toward his den, but will run away from it as far as possible. He uses every precaution to protect his family from danger and, when cornered, he fights with courage that is well-nigh heroic. He is not a coward, but will take the most desperate chances imaginable. Mr. Fox is the gambler of the animal kingdom.
There are two groups of North American foxes—the red and the grey fox. Under the red fox group comes our wise old friend—the Red Fox proper, recognised by his yellowish red coat, handsome brush and neat, brownish black legs. His paws are clean cut and prettily shaped.
The black, or silver fox, whose fur is so much in vogue, is well nigh priceless. The term "silver fox" is applied to this handsome creature because of the snow-white tip of his tail. Otherwise, he is jet black, with the exception of a few white-tipped hairs.
Next comes the Arctic, or Blue Fox, whose coat changes with the seasons. In the Far North the Arctic fox is pure white all the year around, but farther south, he is white during the winter and bluish brown in summer. In the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, this fox remains bluish brown all the year round, and is known only as the Blue Fox. Climatic conditions make wonderful changes in the colour of the fox's coat.
The handsome cross Fox belongs to the Red Fox group and is by far the most beautiful fox in the world. He takes on the beauty points of all other foxes, and will some day receive the credit he deserves. He is marked by black legs and under parts, steel grey body and head, a bushy, black tail with a silver tip and a dark brownish cross on his shoulder. There is a reddish patch behind the fore leg, and another at the side of the neck. The Hall Island, Kit Fox, Kadiak, Newfoundland, Plains and large-eared fox come under the Red Fox group.
"The Grey Fox is the fox of the South, but it ranges far North into the home of the Red Fox. He is a handsome grey, shaded to brown, and is very agile. When pursued, he can climb a tree to the height of twenty-five feet or more. Five sub-species of the Grey Fox extend throughout the Southern United States from Florida to California. There are several other species of foxes recognised." (Hornaday.)