Friendly foxes ..

Nothing much to report today .. boring old householdy stuff in the morning and in the afternoon a photography session with a couple of vixens!

I'm very confused about the fox family set up. I know it's normal for a breeding couple to hang onto a cub from the last litter to help out with raising the new cubs. I have no idea where the extra help would come from if it's the couple's first breeding year ..

And even more confusing - there are 2 lactating vixens visiting daily - would the helping fox actually lactate to feed the other vixen's cubs?

Questions, questions .. but no answers. .. and now answers!

I asked The Fox Project about this - and here's their reply ..

Not all vixens have support, but in some cases a supporting vixen will also lactate to help out with feeding the cubs. They pretty much share the care by splitting the cubs in to two separate feeding groups. Fox Dads are often heavily involved too, and help out a lot by bringing food once the cubs are on solids. It's unlikely that there are two sets of cubs in the same garden territory.