Both know they are there and that there is an element of
danger, but neither is anxious enough to overwhelm their curiosity. For one,
security is heightened by the knowledge that foliage can instantly cloak her
appearance and four legs can provide a quick escape. For the other, human
ingenuity and a respectful and historical control of nature provide the
confidence that the encounter will end peacefully.
Special thanks go to my pal Tim for passing this photo on to
me. After I shared my initial jottings
of the shot with him (as read above) Tim recounted a bit more of his encounter
with this animal in the wild.
Tim and his wife were hiking in and around some bluffs and
saw the fox early in their excursion. At that time the teen fox was a bit more
timid and when Tim attempted a photo the fox scurried hastily away toward a
steep embankment. As she stumbled along
the slope I can only imagine what went through the creatures mind, “Awe cuss, I
should have never gone this way. Why did I have to get a look at the Homo sapiens?” (It is a common practice
for animals in the wild to refer to themselves and others by their Latinized binomial
nomenclatures.)
Whatever regrets she held from the first encounter dissipated
quickly in the fresh summer air. When a second opportunity to view the bipeds
arose she snapped it up and captured the moment like a photograph, to be filed
away in her memories and color the duration of her natural history.
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