Fox Hunt

Update on the Crossroads Circle fox(es): he, or they, is, or are, alive and well.

Nobody has seen hide nor hair of Mr. Fox (we'll assume it's a gentleman fox until proven otherwise) all week. On my way into the building I noticed some scatological evidence of the fox's presence over the weekend.  But I couldn't be sure how recent it was, if you catch my drift.

Upon taking my lunch-time stroll around the office park on Wednesday, I happened to see some tracks in the freshly fallen snow.  I didn't want to jump to conclusions, since I know we surely have raccoons, squirrels, and rabbits in the area.  But based upon basic nature observations gained throughout my life, I quickly deduced that the gait demonstrated in these tracks was not right for a raccoon, with its short front legs and big fat hindquarters.  And I surely knew the tracks were too large and wrongly spaced to be from rabbits or squirrels.

The tracks seemed very similar to those left by my dog, only neater - if that makes sense - and smaller.  Since foxes are canines, this was enough to convince me that these are indeed the footprints of our fox friend (or his fox friends and family)!

I passed them at first, thinking not much of them, but upon further reflection I decided to have a little fun and try to track the fox.  Perhaps I could find out where he's been resting, other than our building's mulch!  It appears that the fox was using the walking path part of the time, which was clear of snow by the time I was using it.  So his tracks would weave in and out, appearing here, disappearing into the sidewalk, then emerging some 10 feet down the path.

He seemed interested in walking up to each small tree that lines the path - maybe to sniff it, or to mark it.  Or possibly to check for prey?  The fox clearly has a very comfortable run of the entire business park - I followed his trail across the parking lots and landscaping of 5 different buildings, which makes up about half of the area, before I got too cold and headed inside.

I traced the tracks back through the lot of one business to the place where some landscaping and a small forest separate the business park from a retirement community to the south made up of a few multi-story apartment buildings.  Judging by the large number of dumpsters in the area, as well as the slightly wooded terrain, I am guessing Mr. Fox has been dining happily on mice (or rats!) for quite some time, only becoming noticeable as the fall foliage has disappeared.

I'd love to go back over there sometime when there aren't so many people around, though I doubt I can convince anyone to make the trip over to my work on a weekend just to traipse about in the snow with me.  I would love to explore the parking lots and the big empty field to the west without the scrutiny of the buildings' tenants.

Alas, I'm sure I won't discover the fox's den.  Perhaps I won't even see him again.  But I feel privileged to have gotten the few close glimpses that I did!  Carry on, Mr. Fox!