THE MIND OF THE FOX 



49 



hounds dash over him, shows considerable intelligence 

 in making use of these methods of escape on the 

 spur of the moment, as a means of deceiving or evad- 

 ing his enemies. But I do not think he uses these 

 for the first time when hunted. A fox often disturbed 

 will make his lair in the ivy-covered tree for the sake 

 of the quiet and seclusion he loves above all things. 

 He has probably found that crawling along the top of 

 the hedge or wall enables him to outwit the rabbits 

 and rats. A sudden spring between his prey and its 

 refuge confuses it and makes it an easy victim. We 

 know from our hunting experience that a fox crouched 

 gives no scent, and therefore he is not winded by 

 the rats and rabbits. Thus the stratagems of the 

 hunter are available for the safety of the hunted. 



In many ways a fox is inferior in strategy to the 

 red deer or the hare. When a fox turns short back 

 on his tracks he does so, not in order to puzzle his 

 enemies, but from two causes : first, when he is headed ; 

 secondly, when he has reached the limit of his know- 

 ledge of the country. If, however, a fox be driven out 

 of his country he generally runs straight forward. 

 Though he will often pass within sight of an open earth, 

 he will turn neither to the right hand nor to the left 

 for a drain or rabbit's hole, and die fairly exhausted 

 almost within hail of safety. He cannot usually — I have 



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