Mother Fox Feeding Her Kits (Trail Camera Results)

On March 29th, I was walking in the woods next to Framingham High School one day, during "Junior Privileges" (This is the same way I found the dens to begin with). Movement on the riverbank caught my eye. An adult red fox was trotting towards the den! I struggled to take out my Canon Rebel T3, and took off the lens cap. By the time I was looking into the viewfinder, The adult was lying down, hidden behind the huge clay mound formed by years of digging. I then noticed a little movement, by a nearby entrance. A couple of kits ran down the mound, to the adult. I took some photos, but afterwards realized I had forgot to insert the SD card, so not one of those photos were saved. I later returned and took photos successfully, but they don't even compare to the trail cam footage I collected the next day (30th)...

...The parents would visit the den throughout the day. Whenever the mother arrived at the den, All of the kits would crowd around her, and would surround her, waiting for her to nurse them. The kits can't digest solid food

...I can't decide which videos are more interesting: the footage of the interaction and feeding that comes with an adult's visit to the den, or the ones where the kits are "home alone". Their behavior changes radically when they get left alone. They socialize with their siblings, playing exactly how I've seen dogs play. They are curious about everything, including blowing leaves, and a new mini entrance that the siblings have been working on...

    

They were also doing other funny things, from competing over a twig, to practicing pounces. I counted 6 kits. They were very active. They would chase each other, nibble on each others throats, ears, tails, and faces. Occasionally things escalate, and they would have a real fight...

These play fights can actually get quite brutal, causing permanently lasting results. Foxes are known to have holes in their ears, and other damage, as adults. I actually think that the kit's father was the victim of a couple sibling-on-sibling fights when it was younger. His tail is permanently bent at the end, deforming the fur on the tip of his tail to be unnaturally puffy:

                                                     

                                                The Mother's Tail:                          The Father's Tail:

 

...But the kits are usually friendly again the moment they see their mom walking to the den. They don't want to be distracted from getting access to the nipple. I'm sure that will change when the parents switch to solid food, and the kits will learn to fight over food, even harsher than they do now.

                                                         I will post updates regularly.