Fox family 2021-2022

One of the braver fox cubs raised in the den the previous year - the one with the white markings on her front paws - came back to raise her own litter of cubs a year later. Different to last year, she was very comfortable around the camera, so many captures include interactions between her and the cubs. There were four initially, then three and they were much more reclusive than the vixen, perpetually running back to the den whenever I came into the garden. A tent helped initially when they couldn't see so well, but once they started venturing further I needed to hide behind bushes instead. By June they had all gotten used to me and I was able to get some really nice closeups. By August only one cub remained in the garden, with the vixen and another sibling visiting occasionally, sometimes for some serious playtime. By October, only mum fox returned to the garden. She even mated in the garden in January and got visbly pregnant, but we never saw her 2022 cubs. Her last visit was in August 2022. The photos here are arranged in chronological order and it's amazing to see the cubs' appearance and the vixen change with the seasons.