THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE FOX 21 



came regularly to the back of my kennels to search 

 for bones on the rubbish-heap at the bottom of 

 the orchard in which they were situated. I often 

 saw her and suggested to the keeper to put a dead 

 rabbit for her. The first night she did not touch it. 

 It was then lightly buried ; she immediately dug it 

 up and afterwards came regularly for her meal. One 

 evening, going down to feed the terriers rather later 

 than usual, after flinging open the kennel doors 

 to let the dogs have their run, to my dismay 

 I spied the vixen on the top of the straw hunting for 

 her meal. Walking backwards and whistling softly 

 to the dogs, I drew their attention the other way, 

 while the fox crouched down quite still ; had she 

 attempted to run, they would have seen her, and 

 then alas! poor fox!' The same careful and accu- 

 rate observer goes on to say : ' A vixen will fight 

 courageously in defence of her cubs, and I have 

 several times known a vixen to attack and drive out 

 a terrier from the earth.' 



It is strange, but a dog which will attack and 

 kill a fox under ordinary circumstances will not 

 always fight when the tables are turned on him. 

 On one occasion a terrier accustomed to bolting 

 foxes followed a rabbit into an earth where a 

 vixen had laid up her cubs. Very quickly he 



