Same fox as yesterdays photos . . . I turned my back on him and was fiddling with my backpack and twirled in time to see him eyeballing the back of my calf - cheeky little monkey! It is a unique ecosystem out here compared to other places in Alaska - the fox (or perhaps the bald eagle) is the top of the non-marine food chain out here; there are wild horses but no coyote, wolf, bear, moose or caribou. It is always nice to see the foxes, themselves not indigenous to the Aleutians, remnants of the old days of fox farming for furs. There have been a couple times there has been a fox on my front doorstep when I opened the door to walk the dog - a moment of amazed silence followed by extreme chaos as everyone comes to their senses.
I miss the large land mammals of Alaska - they added a sense of spice to the outdoors that is lacking out here - there aren't even really any biting insects due to the wind. Being charged by a moose in rut, or surprising a bear when hiking or - rarest of all, just a handful of times in 20 years as an Alaskan for me - seeing a wolf in the wild, those are times that live in memory forever.
We do have fantastic ocean wildlife though - whales, porpoises, sea otters, seals, sea lions - and the birding is wonderful as well. And of course those sneaky little foxes . . . . .
6 comments:
Wow, he did get a little too close huh? Probably just hungry? Do you ever feed them and are you afraid the little guy may bit you? Just curious, because if it was me, I'd be tempted to try.
Aww, I still think he is a cutie!
This is a fabulous photo! I like the "off center" and the way the fox has his head tipped and the way his eyes are narrowed.
Lori, I've never fed the foxes out here, they have their own ecosystem and I wouldn't want to mess with that. I suspect some folks do feed them though, unfortunately . . .
The closest I get to anyone wanting to sample me, where I live in the Sierra Nevadas, is the occasional mountain lion. And I wouldn't see or hear them until I was on the ground.
BZ
BZ - I'd rather deal with bears, I understand why they are attacking and what steps to take! A mountain lion, in most cases, is engaging in an act or predation - they are not trying to protect their cubs, they are trying to feed their cubs. And you're right . . . so very quiet . . . but isn't it cool knowing they are out there?
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