Unruly Gray Fox!!!!

[Dave S]

I've got a gray Fox that has been visiting my yard for the last couple years. We don't feed him or do anything else to attract it. Lately, he's been making nightly visits to the yard. I only know this because anytime during the hours of darkness, we hear rabbit distress calls in the backyard followed by the fox entering the yard barking.

He/she's been standing on the edge of our patio barking for the past 3 nights. Saturday morning he was outside our bedroom window at 3AM barking at another rabbit in distress. Saturday evening he was in the valley near the house working his/her way to the yard from about 200 yards away, barking the whole time. Last night it was at 11PM near the patio again.

The neighbors even watched it from the kitchen window gathering bread crumbs and after the crumbs were piled up, it carried them off to the woods for a meal. The bread was put out for the birds and without their knowledge there was even a fox in the area.

I wish I had a trail cam to set up and try to get some pics of it. It's looked very healthy everytime we've gotten a good look at it. No signs of mange or other diseases.

Just thought I'd share the story. We've seen other Gray's in the area, including one that has taken up residence in the city of Le Sueur. I knew they've been around for a while but the numbers seem to be way up recently. Even with a good population of coyotes in the area.

[pureinsanity]

I hate the fox bark! Its pretty narly and it's creepy! One chased my buddy in northern wisc late summer this year. It was pretty funny, hearing the fox bark right behind him and a grown man screaming like a school girl and running to the cabin!!

[Dave S]

Aside from the ability to climb trees, their bark has got to be the oddest thing about a Gray Fox.

I didn't hear it until this morning at 5:30 but it was off in the distance today. This one sure seems to have a very distainct personality to it. Another neighbor said he turned around one day to have it 10 yards away and you guessed it........barking at him. At no time has it ever threatened anyone. It's been more of a "Here I Am" bark.

[picksbigwagon]

Maybe it needs a .22 bark back or a .17hmr bark back.....are you in city limits?

[Jack Peterson]

My uncle had a Gray fox killing his bantam chickens, so one night he strapped a rooster to a tree, waited for the fox, and then pounded it with a shotgun! That was always a good story to hear.

[Dave S]

Maybe it needs a .22 bark back or a .17hmr bark back.....are you in city limits?

Out in the country, 2 doors from one of your co-workers.

[picksbigwagon]

Really? who?????

[Dave S]

Her name is Carol. Not sure if she's in the same building, but she knows you.

When we heard the fox working it's way through the valley Saturday night, it spent a good amount of time in Carols yard barking before it came to the top of the hill.

[picksbigwagon]

Huh....I wonder who it is

[Dave S]

I know she does obedience training with dogs and has a couple miniature horses. Not sure if that helps or not.

[picksbigwagon]

send me a private message with the last name, I have 3 different carol's in my head right now

[Dave S]

Sorry about the poor photo quality but it's enough to get the jist of who paid me another visit lastnight. He stuck around for about a half hour.

[RumRiverRat]

Close enough to take a picture....means he is gun range!

[Dave S]

The pic would have been better but the wife took the camera to a X-country meet and changed all of the settings. I know nothing about cameras and she knows even less.

But from where I took the pic, the fox was only 15 yards.

[Dave S]

The fox made a return visit to us tonight. This time I got a little better pic. Wish I had a better lense to zoom in more. Sure is packing on the weight.

[picksbigwagon]

.22 short at that range would put it down for the count