September 12, 2008
Friday fox blogging
…listen
…about the musicSly.
The longstanding tradition of bloggers posting cute kitty pix on Friday is one which I have shamelessly enjoyed every few weeks or so. But today, I can’t resist featuring another similar-sized creature who shares some of the same personality traits as my clever feline duo here at home. Yes, this fellow comes when I call him. For that matter, I suspect he comes when anyone calls him. These island foxes have little fear of people, and especially on the heels of a tourist-filled summer, they know that our palms often contain some sort of unidentifiable food product that tastes pretty good, and doesn’t require the effort to chase and kill. I don’t feed these fellas, but he didn’t know that, and when I got out of the car by my favorite beach yesterday afternoon, he trotted right over to me. I’m sure he was disappointed that all I held was a Nikon. I’m the one who got the treat.
The foxes here come in three basic colors: golden, red, and silvery black (both these pix are the same animal; the sunlight and shadow were variable). They’re all the same species, just different hairdos. I seriously doubt that over eons of time the black ones were evolved in order to camouflage perfectly with asphalt, and yet that’s the result here. Excellent if you don’t want the bald eagles to see you. Not so excellent if you’d prefer that any cars DO. Amazingly, I have yet to see any flattened, furry-tailed splotches, but I imagine it happens from time to time; foxes are all over this isle. I do my best when driving to make sure they’re not all over the road, too.
Glenn Buttkus said,
September 12, 2008 @ 5:29 am
If you are not careful, some people are going to start calling you the “foxy lady”. Those San Juan foxes have had decades to approach a form of domestication. Some fox facts I found:
Foxes are readily found in cities and cultivated areas and (depending upon species) seem to adapt reasonably well to human presence.
Unlike many canids, foxes are usually not pack animals. Typically, they are solitary, opportunistic feeders that hunt live prey (especially rodents). Using a pouncing technique practiced from an early age, they are usually able to kill their prey quickly. Foxes also gather a wide variety of other foods ranging from grasshoppers to fruit and berries.
Foxes are normally extremely wary of humans and are not kept as pets (with the exception of the fennec); however, the silver fox was successfully domesticated in Russia after a 45 year selective breeding program. This selective breeding also resulted in physical and behavioural traits appearing that are frequently seen in domestic cats, dogs, and other animals: pigmentation changes, floppy ears, and curly tails
I really got pumped up listening to and relistening to SlyJazz@1:26. One time through I was immersed in a 40’s antimated world, where I had white gloved cartoon hands, with only three fingers, and the world was populated by foxes in derbys and spats and puffing cigars, wearing flashy cartoon clothes and speaking English with a Southern twang, kind of Cajun and Louisiana sounding. The jazz lines filled in fine in that world, and then another time through I was on a space station on the moon looking back at the earth the jazz seemed perfectly suited for the late 21st century, the electronic sythesizer filling in for several other instruments, as the piano plinked and the bass fiddled and plunked. I sipped herbal tea and watched the sun come up on the northern hemisphere, and listened to Shapiro.
Glenn
Alex Shapiro said,
September 12, 2008 @ 9:33 am
Thanks once again for a great and informative comment, Glenn! And, for always having such a keen sense of the tone and timbre and mood of my little music clips. You nailed it!
🙂
Alex
Drew McManus said,
September 15, 2008 @ 4:06 pm
That is simply too cute Alex, we’re thrilled to have an alley cat come when we call but a fox, how can we compare. And what’s next for you? Any bears hanging around…
Paul H. Muller said,
September 18, 2008 @ 1:39 pm
That first picture makes the fox look a bit sinister. I was thinking an obvious upper management type, but then they look more like weasels.
I think you best keep that cats inside when the fox comes calling….
notes from the kelp » Take a walk with me said,
April 12, 2009 @ 1:29 pm
[…] can see a much better pic I shot last summer of a similar fox here and some good ones of an adult […]
notes from the kelp » Back on the farm said,
August 23, 2011 @ 10:39 am
[…] flogged you, dear Kelpville readers, with endless pix of orcas, foxes, eagles, raccoons, alpacas, squishy sea creatures, and furry critters, I thought it would be a nice […]