A Fox in the grass

Yesterday, I was walking around Taraza fields, in Valdoviño (A Coruña). At the end of Spring and beggining of summer are the best time for watching there. I met Pepe Vidal and, together, we could enjoy a nice and unexpected surprise. When we returned to  my car, we could watch this :

 A Fox (Vulpes vulpes) was hunting under daylight. I suppose that "manteinance" of cubs force adults to make many more trips to get food. Because during these June days watching foxes by the zone is something quite easy.

The hunter was just in the middle of a enough open fild ,without trees or hedges where hide. I had to get close very carefully, geting down so the fox couldn´t see me. An area with higher grass, just in front of my position, helped to me.

 The animal didn´t show any other interest but ground. Fox sharpen its senses to locate any little rodent that  make the mistake of getting out the den. Past year I have witnessed how a fox captured and ate a Water vole (Arvicola sapidus). When fox leaved, ony the rodent stomach (full of grass) remained over the ground.

 
   As we can see in this photos, the fox is a female.

  In these days, people debate about fox hunting.  In Spanish state, fox beats are still legal, although have a great opposition, from ecologist movement.  There´s no scientific studys that justify these massacres, and seems to have an economic cause (hunting bussines)
    And talking about fox, by chance, Rubén Portas has just published an interesting article about fox urban population in London (pic here  Noroeste ibérico).

 In Valdoviño, foxes live free and wild (for the time being..)

 See you soon.