Family Of Adorable Little Foxes Keeps Visiting Man's Backyard

[catbyte]

"I didn't realize they were so playful" ❤️

By Stephen Messenger

A few months back, some adorably unexpected visitors began dropping by Shawn Davis’ backyard in Illinois.

It was a family of local foxes — and they quickly made themselves right at home.



It all started one day in May, when Davis spotted a pair of young foxes hanging out near his patio. That first encounter came as quite a shock.

"We had never actually seen a fox kit before and were really surprised they were in our yard, since we live in the middle of a residential neighborhood," Davis told The Dodo.



The baby foxes apparently found that first visit entertaining — and they let the rest of their family know it.

"After that, we started seeing more and more foxes," Davis said.

Before long, the visits became a regular thing.



The fox family consists of a mom, dad and their five kids. They started dropping by just about every day to rest, relax — and, of course, to play.

"Our yard is very private and I think they just felt safe there," Davis said. "They would curl up and sleep under the trees in the daytime and then play in the morning and at dusk."



Davis and his family loved watching the foxes so much, he decided to start filming them so others could enjoy it, too.

"Since the pandemic has kept us inside, it really became the highlight of the day for me, my wife and our daughter," Davis said.

Here's a compilation of some of the fox family's most memorable visits:

https://www.facebook.com/592410542/videos/10163585017325543/

The foxes sure put on a show for Davis and his family.

"I didn't realize they were so playful," he said. "They were very cute little critters."



As time has gone on, with the young foxes growing more and more independent, the visits have become less frequent. But, with any luck, they'll eventually start new families — perhaps keeping in mind Davis' yard as a peaceful place for their future kids to nap and play.

"We miss seeing them as much and would definitely welcome them back next year!" Davis said. "It was a great experience for sure!"

https://www.thedodo.com/daily-dodo/family-of-adorably-little-foxes-visits-mans-backyard

[MuseRider]

1. My neighbor across the road

had a litter under her barn. She does not know what happened to the mother but they live over there and she feeds them. I see them around, sometimes they even cross the road and go the 1/4 mile around the pond to my house. Makes me worry a bit about the one cat I have that the dogs let outside every day and my goats. They are cute as can be, we have always had them around but they are usually more secretive than these who are used to her feeding them. Love your pictures.

[Duppers]

2. Kitties vs foxes

Size is all that matters in this equation, all critter experts say.

We have semi-tame little cat-sized Gray Foxes (under 6lbs & look more like the tiny "Island foxes" ) in our neighborhood. Cute as can be. They avoid the local big kitties who some neighbors let out to hunt .

Our little Grays look like this...

[MuseRider]

3. SO cute!

We have the regular red foxes and they can get pretty big and they do hunt cats here. I had only seen them from a distance until early this spring when I went out to the goat pen to close them in for the evening and night and a big red fox ran out of there. Beautiful creature, probably about 30 pounds maybe? I then realized even my old wethered boys were more than enough for a fox unless caught outside by a pack and I do not know if they hunt in packs. The coyotes do.

Anyway, I love the look of the Gray foxes! Thank you for sharing that, I did not know anything about them before now!

[Duppers]

5. You're most welcome.

No, foxes do not hunt in packs. They do form small family groups that share territories but are normally solitary hunters.
The little gray fox eat small rabbits, frogs, mice, fish, even insects.

[smirkymonkey]

4. They are so adorable!

Sometimes I miss seeing wildlife around me. I have lived in large cities ever since I have graduated from college, which has been about 35 years now, but I grew up in a semi-rural area and we saw little woodland creatures all the time (and some big ones - Bears, who would come at night and raid our trash!)

I used to go exploring in the woods a lot and one day I came face to face with this adorable little fox. I was kind of surprised and even a bit scared because I had never seen one before. We just stared at each other for a little while and then it ran off.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

6. Beautiful story, Catbyte.

Thank you for assembling the story and photos for our enjoyment!........