Kip’s Comments - January 12, 2023
In The Old Days
Long ago, before I ever picked up a film camera, I was a fox hunter. My effective tool was a high-power rifle that would nearly instantly deliver a well-placed, hand loaded bullet, a hundred or two hundred yards out into a field.
At the time, hunting in a lethal form was my passion. I worked third shift, we were a young family, and I hunted for meat and cash (furs). Not only did fox provide me with a reason to be out and some funds, but it was fox that caused me to pick up a camera that still has not been permanently put down.
Fast forward to the more recent past when farmer friends allowed me to photograph a fox den under one of their outbuildings. I spent 3-4 hours a night, almost 5 nights a week, for nearly 9-weeks at that den. My time spent at that den watching the young grow from so little to able to begin life on their own ended my ability to hunt fox with a rifle. I saw their personalities, their attitudes, and I saw a change in my perspective of the beautiful animals. When two of the four young fox in the den laid in a soybean field with me, trusting me enough to sleep, but not enough for me to touch them (I did not try), I knew we had developed a connection. My days of hunting fox in a lethal manner were over. (See pictures below from that special time.)
Young Red Fox at Den - image 63992
Young Red Fox at Den - image 61132
Even after being bitten repeatedly by a fox, I still cannot gun-hunt them.
The skills I learned while hunting fox with a rifle continue to be useful today. Spotting fox, while not easy, is an ability that remains with me, even though I don’t practice fox searches often enough.
This picture shows what appears to be an old fox attempting to hide from me and from the wind. In the old days this fox would have been an easy target. Now, it still is a target, but only a target for my focusing box on my Nikon.
Red Fox Hiding - Image 788113
Foxes in clear view are pretty pictures. Foxes attempting to hide are a realistic, more likely view of this special animal. For that reason I took a few photos and let the fox be. The fox may think I did not see it, or maybe the fox somehow trusted - I don’t know. I do know the fox remained in hiding as I drove away, content with a photo and not the animal. Times are different now.
(Note: I am NOT anti-hunting. In fact, I am a Hunter Education instructor and recognize how hunting has played a role in preserving habitat. I only choose not to hunt fox as I used to.)
