Red Fox Kits 001

A friend of mine told me that red fox kits were seen at a den along Hwy 2 north of Two Harbors. On Friday I went to see if I could get some photos of the fox kits. I found the den at about 9:00 a.m. and noticed what I thought was the male curled up under a pine tree. I sat in the car and waited, hoping that the female would show up. The den is in a beautiful location along a hillside right under some pine trees. After a while the female appeared and a cute little red fox kit popped out of the den.

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Red Fox Kits 002

The mom began to nurse the kit.

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Soon two more kits came out.

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As soon as the mom lay down, all three kits jumped on her trying to get some milk.

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The two darker ones blocked the lighter one so it didn’t get a chance to feed.

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The lighter one ran around the mom several times jumping on her back and trying to find an opening.

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It put its mouth up to the mom’s ear and I could imagine it saying “My brothers won’t make room for me, Mom”.

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Eventually all three got enough milk and started to play. This is the first time that I have seen red fox this young. They are so cute.

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Red Fox Kits 009

They didn’t even look like fox but reminded me of a pine martin or a fisher. The two darker ones may turn out to be cross fox which is a darker phase of the red fox. Fox parents can have both red and cross kits in the same litter.

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I watched and photographed the foxes for about three hours. I couldn’t believe how fortunate I was to witness the fox family playing, feeding and just enjoying each other’s company. It was definitely one of my best experiences watching and photographing wildlife in the north woods.

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