Red Fox Body Language


Posted by Ron Day on Wed Jul 08, 2015 5:31 pm

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During autumn, I photographed this eight month old vixen from my blind. At the time I tripped the shutter, her pose confused me. A few seconds later, a male fox passed by the side of my blind and approached her. With her ears back and her mouth open, my first thought was that she was showing aggression, perhaps preparing to strike. However, that never happened. The male walked past her, and she maintained this posture. Confused, I did some research and discovered:

"(a) fearful fox grins in submission, (with) its back arched and body curved, (and) legs crouched. . . If the fox (is) merely submissive, and less fearful, its back (is) not . . . arched, nor its body curved. . ."    Macdonald, David (1987), "Running with the Fox," pp.42-43, Guild Publishing, London.

So, the vixen's "grin in submission," in the absence of an arched back or a curved body, revealed that she was simply displaying submission (not fear or aggression) as the male fox approached her. Interesting. Please click on image and view in shadowbox.  Thank you.

Nikon D3, 200-400mm, f/4 @ 1/250, EV(-0.67), ISO 1600, Wimberley Head II, Blind. 

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by Gary Briney on Wed Jul 08, 2015 5:49 pm
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Interesting behavior shot -- thanks for including the explanation!
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by Leighayres on Wed Jul 08, 2015 7:38 pm
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Nice shot and love the dynamic expression on the fox. Great image
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by john on Thu Jul 09, 2015 1:33 am
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I like the selective focus here keeping the focus on the face expression. Thanks for the lesson in fox behaviour!
 

by Carol Clarke on Thu Jul 09, 2015 5:07 am
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Fine behaviour illustration Ron, and lovely use of selective focus.  She has set the scene nicely for when they meet again and she is a little older.  8)
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by david fletcher on Thu Jul 09, 2015 5:37 am
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Fantastic shot Ron. Great behaviour shot and love the extra information. beautiful colours and comp Ron. masterful!
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by SAURAV CHAKRABORTY on Thu Jul 09, 2015 11:46 am
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Nice behaviour shot of this beautiful species....the beautiful display of jaws makes the shot for me.

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by Nate Chappell on Thu Jul 09, 2015 2:18 pm
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Super pose you captured here Ron with nice complementary colors.
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by RLK on Thu Jul 09, 2015 8:02 pm
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Incredible pose Ron. It is very sharp at the open mouth focal point and really draws my eyes there. A little more depth of focus would be nice but I would certainly be happy with this image if it were mine.
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by Debapratim Saha on Fri Jul 10, 2015 5:49 am
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Great DOF,howling action and the mystic light and environ....amazing shot.
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by LynnS on Sat Jul 11, 2015 3:09 pm
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Ron, what an interesting write-up and a wonderful, dynamic behavior shot.  I especially like the way the facial expression is further highlighted by the shallow DOF.  Beautiful woodsy scenery to boot, a pleasure to learn and view.
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by Missy Mandel on Sun Jul 12, 2015 4:05 pm
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WOW Ron. You learn something new everyday :) This image tells the story beautifully
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by Ron Day on Mon Jul 13, 2015 11:17 pm
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Thanks for your input and comments everyone, they are greatly appreciated.
 

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