The little crippled fox has been eating cat food in the driveway for some time now. It was looking pretty scruffy, so on Monday we gave in and have started putting dog food out in a bowl a little distance from where the outside cats eat. We thought the fox ate the food Monday night, but it was too late and too dark to be sure. Tonight we got confirmation.

The fox eats

But I didn’t get a shot of the really good part. Before this, Leah’s cat Zoe was chasing the fox around in the driveway. From the kitchen window Zoe looked almost as large as the fox. The fox was definitely trying to stay away from Zoe, but it didn’t look like she took it too seriously. She certainly wasn’t going to leave the food.

One of our neighbors told us tonight that her critter cam has caught this fox and one kit recently. She said her husband has seen more than one kit, but that was some time ago. The critter cam has also caught a coyote within the last couple of months, so it’s possible the one kit is the only survivor.

She also told us her camera has caught Zeke a couple of times when he has gotten loose.

I noticed that the fox was putting its bad foot on the ground tonight when it stood or sat. It still holds it up when it moves. The injury is more than a month old, so I don’t know whether it means anything positive or not.

We were on our way back from eating a quick supper in town and saw a turtle in the middle of the inbound lane of Huffaker Road. He was not moving. This is the second time in the last two weeks we have had to move a turtle off the road. This one was about a half mile from the previous one. It was definitely a different turtle, because it was significantly bigger. If I spread my fingers as wide as I could, I could barely pick him up with one hand.

… and stay out!

I didn’t want to take a picture while he was in the middle of the road; Huffaker is not a busy road, but people tend to drive at a good pace. So I waited till I put him down in the grass, and then, of course, I couldn’t get a good shot of anything but his shell. I wish I could have taken a picture of his front feet, because the claws looked to be particularly long and thin.

Neither of the turtles was moving when we found them. They were both partially retracted into their shells, and didn’t react much when I picked them up. I have no idea what they’re doing just sitting in the road. I would guess they were attracted by the heat of the pavement, but I’m not sure why since the days have been so warm.