Controversal Debate at the Fox Den
I've taken a bit of an obsession with foxes lately. Mostly because I've never had the chance to consistently get very close to them and also know they'll be there again tomorrow when I return. Similar to the days before, I arrived early morning to see what kind of photos I could get. This morning was especially exciting as I had a borrowed 500mm lens but would quickly be shadowed by what actually happened.
When I arrived, I found a guy that looked to be about 55 walking around the hill with his dog (a type of dog that I would associate with hunting dogs but appeared to be harmless as he sniffed my knees). This man equipped with a stick climbed to the top of the hill, called his dog over and started shoving it down each of the fox holes. Initially shocked as I watched on trying to figure out his intentions, I started to setup the camera to get his photo in action. The first frame fired miss-focusing on the many trees between us. At that point, he then decided it was time to come over to have a little talk with me.
I remember it basically going like this:
- him: "Did you get any good pictures yet"
- me: "Not yet but what the hell are you doing?"
- him: "I wanted to get some photos too"
- me: "Really? with a stick?"
- him: "I wanted them to come out and see me"
- me: "Ok, so where is your camera then?"
- him: "in my pocket"
- me: "Can you show me it?"
- him: "No, why would you want to see my camera?"
- me: "Actually, I don't but I'm pretty sure you're lying to me"
- him: "Why would I lie to you?"
- me: "Probably for the same reason you won't show me your camera"
- him: "Who do you think you are anyway?"
- me: "Listen, you came over and started talking to me and you're the one claiming to take photos with a stick and a dog"
- him: "so, have you taken any good photos?"
- me: "I just told you no but I'd love to see the ones you have"
- him: "I can't show you"
- me: "why not?"
- him: "because my batteries are dead"
- me: "of course they are"
This continued for 5-10 minutes and I was asked a number of times "Who do you think you are?" and he consistently went back to asking me "Did you get any good photos?". He also eventually showed me a black case that could very well have been a camera.
When he noticed someone else coming down the trail, he quickly ended his highly defensive rant, told me to keep trying because he was sure I'd get some good photos, jumped into the ditch to avoid the person walking our way before finally taking off through the field.
He was traveling on foot and had nothing with him so I'm guessing he found the stick there. It's very possible that he was just one stupid and curious person. Searching Google also tells me that fox dens have multiple entrances with curving tunnels.
Either way, I waited for 2 hours after he left and only saw 3 kits plus 2 adults came out at their usual time. Last week there must have been 12-15 kits with at least 3 adults. I'm not sure how long they stay at home but they're still fairly small.
With a 500mm lens that pretty much requires a tripod and only capable of focusing on subjects more then 15-20 feet away, I'm disappointed I failed to get a photo of him to include with this post. Always keep a smaller camera in your pocket! You never know when you'll meet someone that belongs on a "Punch in the Face" list.