Mammals Archives - Animal Seekers

Spotted Species #9: Red Fox – they are everywhere

There’s no doubt that red fox are cute. They remind us of our dogs and aren’t as ominous as coyotes or wolves. They also are helpful as they love to eat rodents and rabbits, helping to keep those populations down.

They live everywhere – literally, they are one of the most widely distributed animals on earth, living on multiple continents across multiple biomes, including tundra, dessert, forest, you name it.

But they aren’t as widely seen because they tend to hunt at night or dusk/dawn. I’ve seen glimpses of foxes here and there in suburban and even urban areas, but the only chance I’ve gotten to really get a good photo was in Denali National Park on a bus tour where the driver clearly knew where they could be found.

There they seem to be a bit less scared. We also were near a den. It was early July, and kits – baby foxes – likely were still young. Anyway, this fox was just hanging out in a field before eventually running off.

I took the photos from the bus. It was my first close encounter with a fox, and I was struck by its lush red coat and curious look. I was able to even get some video of it running around.

Spotted Species #2 – Koala: A Dream Fulfilled

I’ll never forget the first time I saw a koala. We had left Melbourne, Australia, that morning back in 2004 and hopped onto the Great Ocean Road, a spectacular coastal drive along the southernmost part of Victoria, headed for Warrnambool, home to the Southern Right Whales (which I’ll discuss in a later post). I’d wanted to see a koala in the wild for years, and this was my chance. I knew that they often could be seen along the Great Ocean Road.

As we drove along, I kept looking up in the trees. There were eucalyptus trees scattered on both sides of the Great Ocean Road. The two-lane highway meandered through a heavily wooded area, occasionally sweeping out by the water, where there were majestic views of the Southern Ocean. For a long time, I didn’t see anything in those white trees with just a tuft of leaves near the top.

And, then suddenly, I did see something. I was traveling with my parents at the time, and I had to tell my dad to turn around. He did and we headed back to the tree. Lo and behold there he (or she) was. A koala bear chilling out in a tree.

It was a glorious moment; a long-time goal had been fulfilled. Here was a koala in the wild, and I had found it all by myself. There were not other people around, not many cars were passing by. It was just me and the koala. I got out of the car and walked up by the tree he was in. I took some pictures of him chilling there. He didn’t seem too concerned about me – in fact, I have a feeling I wasn’t the only person to stop by and photograph him that day. My first koala bear in the wild – I was giddy with excitement.

We got back in the car and headed on our way. About a mile down the road, we came across a crowd of stopped cars and stopped ourselves. There were two more koala bears up in a tree, just chilling out. These were a bit smaller and a bit further up.

For more about koalas, view my page on koalas, as well as find some games and other activities on the kid’s page about koalas.