NTSOG wrote:The reason I asked about when young foxes start roaming is that the little blighter in the photos attached has been coming around to my usual bait station for a few nights. To my unskilled eye it looks immature, much like a domestic puppy looks 'soft', lighter in build and undeveloped in comparison to an adult dog. Could this little fellow be one of this season's 'crop'? He's pretty regular with his timing: between 10:00 PM and 2:00 AM for one or two visits per night.
He's going to have to come at an earlier hour before I have a crack at him, especially with the weather the last few days.
Jim
Hey NTSOG...
Thats not a pup mate...well not to my vision anyway..having said that there is nothing for size comparison in the pic..but that fox looks fully formed to me & so has got to be atleast 6 months old, which given the time of year it must be at least a year old.
If its just started showing up, it may well be a vixon who;s kids are moving well onto solid food & off the boob now, &/or they pups are now old enough for her to leave the nest & fill her belly to make more milk... .
I often come across vixens (shoot them) that are quite small & you'd swear they were pups when walking up to them & pick em up...
They can a good bit smaller in the head & shorter in the snout as compared to a male, & sometimes their head form can look like a cat at a distance under a spotlight--more rounded than elongated.
Youd know a pup this time of year from its over-all size (much smaller), then as they grow through to Dec/Jan, by their head shape, thin tail (not bushy) & they grow to being very lanky looking & out of proportion before filling out--small head, big ears, long legs thin body (like an lanky adolescent male German Shephard).
Thats my take on it anyway...
The man who knows everything, doesnt really know everything...he's just stopped learning...