66 THE FOX. 



silently as he could through the undergrowth, he 

 was suddenly startled by a vicious snarl just ahead 

 of him, and a moment later one of the adult foxes 

 leapt from behind a bush, and momentarily barred 

 the way, snarling and bristling. Immediately the 

 fox saw that the intruder was a human being it 

 slunk off, uttering as it went two sharp 'yaps,' 

 which were evidently the signal for the cubs to 

 retire hastily underground. 



In all probability this was the dog-fox, and 

 certainly the part the father plays at this season 

 is by no means insignificant. No doubt in the 

 world of foxes there are fathers and fathers, as 

 there are in the world of human beings ; but 

 observers are too apt to conclude when a fox is 

 seen near a den that it is indisputably the vixen, 

 though as a matter of fact the father is generally 

 on outpost duty somewhere near, and he is more 

 likely to be seen than is the vixen. It is he 

 who gives the first warning of danger, and, if 

 possible, leads the intruder in another direction ; 

 the duty of the vixen is to hasten to her cubs, 

 if she is not already with them, and see that they 

 take cover immediately. 



I give the incident upon which the above 

 statement is based. A keeper in a non-hunting 

 country (Upper Wharf edale) sent his dogs into 

 a wood which he knew contained a fox family, 

 taking up his station at the end of the wood 

 near to a point at which he thought the vixen 

 would bolt. The dogs struck the scent of a 

 fox almost immediately, and were led hither and 

 thither through the undergrowth for some minutes. 

 Presently the keeper saw the vixen cross the boun- 

 dary wall about two hundred yards from where 

 he was standing, and lope across to an adjoining 



