Ferguson: Backyard Fox

Fox, Ferguson, Missouri. July 2018.

There was a fox in my backyard early in the morning.

Fox, Ferguson, Missouri. July 2018.

A lanky one.

Fox, Ferguson, Missouri. July 2018.

And entirely unexpected.

Fox, Ferguson, Missouri. July 2018.

I am regularly surprised at the pleasing rural-urban mix that is Ferguson. Having a fox in one's backyard is only one gift of the community.

A shaky video below:

When I think of foxes in a suburban environment, I think of my house in Jefferson City. My immense backyard ended at a creek that you could follow all the way to the Missouri River.

Through the years I lived there, sometimes at night, I would hear an unsettling cry. Like a woman crying out in pain. Or maybe even a child.

Finally I tracked it down to a fox call. A "vixen's scream" to be precise, although it's not only female foxes that make this call.

A sample of this call below, which actually tells an entertaining story:

Big Bend National Park: Poop and Circumstance

You gotcher bear poop and you gotcher fox poop.

First, some fox poop.

Two foxes' leavings, from a distance:

Fox poop, Chisos Trailheads, Big Bend National Park, Texas. September 2017.

According to one of the naturalists, foxes like to one-poop-up each other, so it isn't uncommon to see the leavings of more than one fox in the same place. In the above photo, two foxes dined on different kinds of seeds before relieving themselves.

Below is the same fox poops next to my car key, for scale:

Fox poop, Chisos Trailheads, Big Bend National Park, Texas. September 2017.

The provenance for the above fox poops is the Chisos Trailheads up by the Chisos Visitor Center.

Now for some bear poop, the provenance of which is The Window trail, approaching from the Chisos Basin Campground.  We'll travel from far to close up:

Fox poop, Chisos Trailheads, Big Bend National Park, Texas. September 2017.

Bear poop, Chisos Trailheads, Big Bend National Park, Texas. September 2017.

Bear poop, Chisos Trailheads, Big Bend National Park, Texas. September 2017.

Sadly, I didn't think to place my key next to this proud produce, but trust that it was bigger than the fox poop.