22 THE FOX 



came flying out followed by the vixen. She chased 

 him right across a field, and knocked him over twice 

 before he gained the shelter of the cart in which his 

 owner was. When the man shouted the vixen reluc- 

 tantly abandoned the pursuit and trotted slowly back, 

 whisking her brush in the way foxes do when angry or 

 when stalking their prey. There was another vixen 

 that lived in the shrubbery of a house where foxes were 

 much respected, and she was frequently seen to dash 

 out and attack any passing dog. The dogs invariably 

 ran away, leaving her mistress of the situation. 



The fox comes to maturity at from eighteen 

 months to two years, and lives about twelve to 

 fourteen years. Probably very few fulfil their natural 

 span of life. But a certain number do, and these 

 learn so much by experience that it is very difficult to 

 kill or trap an old fox. 



No doubt the animal's habit of killing and burying 

 the food that is not wanted for immediate consump- 

 tion is a survival. Moreover, the fox, like the dog, 

 buries his food lightly so that he may the more readily 

 remove it when it becomes a little high, in which 

 condition he certainly enjoys it none the less. When 

 the animal buried is a rat, he leaves the tail above 

 ground, whether as a sort of help to finding it I do 

 not know. At all events all the dog family bury 

 their food and generally leave something sticking out, 



