Foxes in the neighborhood

I live in a small town in northeastern Oklahoma. It's not unusual to see a variety of urban wildlife around here. A few years ago, authorities had to remove a young black bear from a tree near the college campus, and deer have wandered down our main street. Raccoons, opossums, skunks, armadillos and groundhogs are frequent sights even in the middle of town, and frankly I could do without the digging in my yard.

But it's the foxes that have inhabited a green space in our neighborhood that have us enthralled. We have seen up to half a dozen of them, hanging out at night near the edge of a stand of trees, watching the cars that turn down the street with caution, but not alarm.

All through the spring, we've spotted them if we've driven past slowly late in the evening. One night I happened to have my camera with me, and one of the foxes stayed out, not minding our presence at all as I snapped several shots from inside my van.

I told my kids that it is important, even though the foxes seem quite tolerant of people, that we not approach them or try to tame them further. They are, after all, wild animals, and it can only end badly for them if people start feeding them and trying to pet them.

Two years ago, they made their springtime home in the same location, then disappeared, probably following the creek through town, down toward the river as the summer got hot. I'm guessing they've left again, now that their kits are old enough to travel. I haven't seen them in more than a week. But I am glad I got a few pictures this year!