A friend of mine came across a red fox with four young kits while she was out hiking recently. She told me where they were, but only after I promised to not reveal their location. The next morning, I went to find them and after an hour or so several kits emerged from their den in a collapsed old mining structure. A total of four kits eventually came out. I didn't see the mother who I assumed was out hunting. I sat quietly to watch and photograph them, although the kits would quickly scramble back to the safety of their den with any unexpected noise or movement. The next day I returned and again saw the kits, but not their mother. I was starting to get a bit concerned, however, I figured with all those mouths to feed hunting was likely a time-consuming endeavor. Thankfully, the following day the mother was at the den with the kits. The kits were more at ease with her around and beyond the occasional glance in my direction they ignored my presence. At one point she came over to check me out. She circled around coming within 10 feet of me and sniffing my backpack before returning to her kits. Up close I realized how small she was. According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, an adult red fox only weighs between 8 and 15 pounds.
After watching and photographing mom and her kits for a while, I was surprised by the return of another fox carrying a squirrel in its mouth. It was clearly the dad, who dropped it as several of the kits scrambled for the prize. One of the kits then took off with it, although it appeared more interested in playing with it than eating it. While watching the kits, it became apparent that one kit tended to stay in the den most of the time. There was a clear difference in how bold they were, with one appearing and venturing out alone until it was joined by a sibling and eventually the others. The kits were clearly not allowed to roam beyond about 20-feet from the den, and their mother would remind them if they went too far. Unfortunately, the reason soon became clear. A pair of hikers appeared below, but their dog, which was not on a leash, came up on the hillside above the den. The alert mother saw the threat and let out a loud warning scream. The kits immediately scrambled back to the safety of the den and once they were inside, the mother and father followed. I went and asked the hikers to put their dog on a leash, but shortly afterwards another hiker came along with a dog, this time on a leash. It was clear that the fox wouldn’t be coming out again for a while.
I returned to the den several more times spending many hours watching them play, explore and lay around. When the mother was at the den with the kits, she would sit and watch for her mate to return. After waiting for several hours one morning, she walked towards me and then proceeded to head off to hunt, leaving her kits at the den with me sitting and watching. Another morning after watching them for a while, two more dogs appeared without an owner nearby. They came up to me waging their tails, but then they saw the foxes and took off towards the den. This time the mother used a different strategy. As the kits scrambled for the safety of the den, she ran away in order to lead the predators from her kits. The dogs eventually wandered off although I never did see their owner. I’m sure it was great fun for the dogs, but it was a life-threatening situation for the foxes. A reminder to dog owners that in Colorado “It is unlawful for any person to knowingly or negligently allow a dog to harass wildlife, whether or not the wildlife is actually injured by such dog”.