what a ham - errr..fox.

[nokk]

just realized i've put this in the wrong forum. can someone please move it to Photos : Nature - Wild and Free ? thanks.

i've seen this girl a few times at my local wildlife refuge, she's really skinny and has mange and a bad limp. but she's still hunting so she just might make it. she decided to ham it up for the camera and gave me a variety of poses over the course of a half hour or so, including eating and sleeping.

 

[Gremlin]

could just be an old fox, are the refuge treating her ?
Lovely pictures

Best way to get a thread moved is to report it and ask, I've done that for

 

[TheBigYin]

moved for you

 

[gramps]

A good set of images but a very sad sight, makes me realise how fortunate my urban Foxes are.

 

[Dale.]

A lovely set and packed with story.

She looks old, has had a hard time, I hope she goes on for a bit yet as long as she's not suffering. Despite her problems, she does look quite content.

 

[nokk]

could just be an old fox, are the refuge treating her ?
Lovely pictures

Best way to get a thread moved is to report it and ask, I've done that for

moved for you

A good set of images but a very sad sight, makes me realise how fortunate my urban Foxes are.

A lovely set and packed with story.

She looks old, has had a hard time, I hope she goes on for a bit yet as long as she's not suffering. Despite her problems, she does look quite content.

thanks everyone. the refuge doesn't intervene with any of the animals, nature will sort it out. she's really small, i think she might be one of this year's kits since she doesn't look anywhere close to the size of the other adults. all of the other kits are out partying all night and sleeping all day so i haven't seen any of them recently to compare her to.

 

[Stuart Philpott]

Oh god here we go

I think Your refuge is misguided Nook, nature does sort this out she wi;; but it's not a quick clean way here in the uk we because our apex predators aren''t here to do their's job .

. To me this animal is suffering, graphically it's death will be slow and hard !! Buddy mange isn't just hair loss its mites burrowing in one's skin, that means no peace at rest as they are more active with heat. . Shes being systematically worn down,............... I don't know how to better put it

. Nook we have no apex predator so nature could sort this clean and quick, that is what should happen. The lines as to whether we humans should interfere is incredibly hard to define but i'd take advice here

bud I'd find a kindly vet and see if there is a way to dose, maybe ivermectin and rashers of bacon spring to mind but vet first. I've never done this a broad spectrum parasite remover would do her no harm !!

. I 'm not one to interfere most of the time. . Nature is brutal and hard I get that ,even though I'm soft as they come. But suffering is suffering no way to dress it up and that's what you have here you can see her ribs first pics She's so wrong in every way physically ,it's hard to look at her

Oh buddy I think your photography is wonderful ,it's to my shame this sentence wasn't first forgive me ,i've seen where this goes ie mange it's horrible !!

I should be having a chat about your piccies, sorry mate........................... seeing an animal like this is real hard for me, especially because I believe it can be fixed.. Nook could the images be a gnats warmer WB wise greens look a little blue???

Maybe the best course is to voice this argument to the center, ?? I utterly understand stepping back and letting nature take it's course but our ecosystem is broken., sometimes we have to step in.

Look I know we make an ass of the whole shebang nature wise .......... I just can't abide watching a slow suffering death when she could be given a chance probably fairly easily. If she is old things/ nature will run their course. If not it's amazing how much she might change.
take care

stu

.

 

[Gremlin]

Vets can't really help put, they can't just hand out drugs that can be put down in open places,
if you can take the fox to them they won't allow it in the surgery where there is a possibility
it could spread to pet animal
When I had a similar rproblem, a local wildlife rescue gave me some stuff to put down, but it had to
be on my property
To be honest I'm not convinced it is mange, the fur on the body looks unaffected, and that would most likely be bare/patchy.
Would love to hear @Lez325 opinion, he's had more experience then most of us with wildlife

 

[Deleted member 34016]

I think it more likely to be shedding fur for a thicker winter coat - I may be wrong, however: 20 years as a Gamekeeper, I did come across more than one Fox looking like this

Her eyes look clear enough. I cannot comment on the limp as I have not see it

Foxes with Sarcoptic Manage do become somewhat Lethargic and not fear humans Loss of fur, scaly skin and a general unthrifty appearance is characteristic of a Sarcoptic mange infestation. The condition worsens as a skin infection sets in. The Foxes immune system is even more compromised and internal parasites (tape, hook and round worms) begin to take over and absorb any nutrients that fox may find. Mangy foxes are usually starving in the late stages.

Les

 

[nokk]

Oh god here we go

I think Your refuge is misguided Nook, nature does sort this out she wi;; but it's not a quick clean way here in the uk we because our apex predators aren''t here to do their's job .

. To me this animal is suffering, graphically it's death will be slow and hard !! Buddy mange isn't just hair loss its mites burrowing in one's skin, that means no peace at rest as they are more active with heat. . Shes being systematically worn down,............... I don't know how to better put it

. Nook we have no apex predator so nature could sort this clean and quick, that is what should happen. The lines as to whether we humans should interfere is incredibly hard to define but i'd take advice here

bud I'd find a kindly vet and see if there is a way to dose, maybe ivermectin and rashers of bacon spring to mind but vet first. I've never done this a broad spectrum parasite remover would do her no harm !!

. I 'm not one to interfere most of the time. . Nature is brutal and hard I get that ,even though I'm soft as they come. But suffering is suffering no way to dress it up and that's what you have here you can see her ribs first pics She's so wrong in every way physically ,it's hard to look at her

Oh buddy I think your photography is wonderful ,it's to my shame this sentence wasn't first forgive me ,i've seen where this goes ie mange it's horrible !!

I should be having a chat about your piccies, sorry mate........................... seeing an animal like this is real hard for me, especially because I believe it can be fixed.. Nook could the images be a gnats warmer WB wise greens look a little blue???

Maybe the best course is to voice this argument to the center, ?? I utterly understand stepping back and letting nature take it's course but our ecosystem is broken., sometimes we have to step in.

Look I know we make an ass of the whole shebang nature wise .......... I just can't abide watching a slow suffering death when she could be given a chance probably fairly easily. If she is old things/ nature will run their course. If not it's amazing how much she might change.
take care

stu

.

i'm from the usa, we have predators. the refuge will not intervene, there are rules in place that won't allow it. it is a national refuge, not private land. if a visitor were to take matters into their own hands they'd be banned from the refuge or, depending on what the visitor did, fined or arrested. and those charges may be handed out on the federal level since it's on federal land.

my dad was arrested and given a year of probation for shooting a rabid fox at work. the charge was because it was outside of fox season and he didn't have a permit. he wasn't even the one who fired the gun, he was the supervisor. he would have lost his job except he had months of ignored emails going to management telling them about his rabid fox problem.

the greens were edited in post to give them a cooler hue.

Vets can't really help put, they can't just hand out drugs that can be put down in open places,
if you can take the fox to them they won't allow it in the surgery where there is a possibility
it could spread to pet animal
When I had a similar rproblem, a local wildlife rescue gave me some stuff to put down, but it had to
be on my property
To be honest I'm not convinced it is mange, the fur on the body looks unaffected, and that would most likely be bare/patchy.
Would love to hear @Lez325 opinion, he's had more experience then most of us with wildlife

there's a small patch of hair missing over one of her eyes and a good portion of her back leg . it's a swampy area so it could be biting flies that's caused the patches of hair missing. she was scratching a lot when i was shooting her.

I think it more likely to be shedding fur for a thicker winter coat - I may be wrong, however: 20 years as a Gamekeeper, I did come across more than one Fox looking like this

Her eyes look clear enough. I cannot comment on the limp as I have not see it

Foxes with Sarcoptic Manage do become somewhat Lethargic and not fear humans Loss of fur, scaly skin and a general unthrifty appearance is characteristic of a Sarcoptic mange infestation. The condition worsens as a skin infection sets in. The Foxes immune system is even more compromised and internal parasites (tape, hook and round worms) begin to take over and absorb any nutrients that fox may find. Mangy foxes are usually starving in the late stages.

Les

i would have to go back and crop in some of the photos that i didn't show to show off the patches missing on her back leg. you can kind of see the missing fur and scaly skin on her back leg in the last photo of her sleeping, here's another shot of her back leg. i saw her again this weekend and she looked worse, the back leg has lost more hair. the limp seems to be from her front right leg, i couldn't see any obvious injury on the leg.

 

[Stuart Philpott]

My apologies I thought this was UK. so every thing I know simply isn't applicable. Cheers for your reply though every day is a school day and I've learnt here, thank you

I'm utterly stunned by the story of your Dad to me he did the right thing. We have no close season to the best of my knowledge here for our red fox Lez above should be able to confirm that recently being a keeper ?

Cheers again

 

[nokk]

My apologies I thought this was UK. so every thing I know simply isn't applicable. Cheers for your reply though every day is a school day and I've learnt here, thank you

I'm utterly stunned by the story of your Dad to me he did the right thing. We have no close season to the best of my knowledge here for our red fox Lez above should be able to confirm that recently being a keeper ?

Cheers again

no worries, i get where you're coming from about not wanting to see her suffer. you have a kind heart.

 

[Stuart Philpott]

Mate I'm a dunce with letters I owe ya another apology for the nook not Nokk. sorry bud,, I couldn'tsee it before tonight........... not good is it? I went over that time and again but still couldn't see it so funny



Buddy I mentioned the cool greens I presume you have done that because of the juxta position of orange and blue re the colour wheel ie you are making the fox pop more?? Was that in your thinking? ?

Still find 'em hard to look at bud, still love the image making , can you tel us more about techs gear etc please.


take care

.

 

[nokk]

Mate I'm a dunce with letters I owe ya another apology for the nook not Nokk. sorry bud,, I couldn'tsee it before tonight........... not good is it? I went over that time and again but still couldn't see it so funny



Buddy I mentioned the cool greens I presume you have done that because of the juxta position of orange and blue re the colour wheel ie you are making the fox pop more?? Was that in your thinking? ?

Still find 'em hard to look at bud, still love the image making , can you tel us more about techs gear etc please.


take care

.

if getting my handle wrong is the worst thing that happens then things are pretty good.

i sell prints at a touristy beach area. the typical buyers are rich vacation home people who like the instagram look of the cooler greens. the blue/greens go with their dark blue or seaside colored interior paint. but it also makes the orangey fur pop more against the grass. the nautical landscapes and boats go best, but wildlife in the marsh grasses often enough to make it worth printing a few.

for gear i'm using a sony a7r4 and 200-600mm lens at 600mm. auto iso, shutter speed usually set to 1/2000s, f/10-14, ev 0 to +2 depending on the light. usually handheld or on a ball head that's not locked in place or my gimbal, whichever tripod i remembered to put in my car. i also use a big pillow thing over my car window and shoot from the car.

 

[Stuart Philpott]

Utterly fascinating,lol i'm not really aware of instagram, well better put what happens there,I know of the site but little else,. Ha, a couple or three fora and interesting folks to talk to is enough for me at the moment .

Thanks again for the come back

 

[tikkathreebarrel]

Well, she doesn't look well and the mange is obvious in the photo showing the side of her mask - look behind her right eye in the last photo. She's still got a good set of teeth - certainly the bottom teeth so if she's able to scavenge dead things she'll continue to draw sustenance but dead things will not be as nutritious as things she's caught.

There's not a lot of visible evidence to help with ageing her so I'm going on the length of her brush and agreeing that she's a few years old. Will she get through a hard winter? Not without interference/intervention. Let's just remember that foxes succeed because they are so resourceful & adaptable.