Since last autumn we have had two foxes, recently this changed and we saw three, there was obvious competition between the first two and the newcomer, this continued for a few nights and then suddenly once again there were two foxes.
They turned up earlier than the others had but were different, the first two were typical red foxes, strikingly red and very much what we were used to seeing. The new two were reminiscent, from the shoulder down on one and from the mid back on the other, of wolves, it was the colour of the coat, it was very silvery. They had black front legs and feet, and black feet and lower legs at the back, also a blackish tail at the top. The fur on their head, neck and back to where it became silvery was red, lighter on the female and darker on the male.
I have wondered several times if they were somehow the product of a mating between a red fox and a dog, and thought of the times when our Shetland Sheepdogs chased after the foxes and on occasion didn't return until the next morning.
We often wondered if dogs and foxes mated and had young.
The female is quite unconcerned by any movement at the patio doors and just contents herself with eating as much and as fast as she is able, but in quite a relaxed manner for instance she chooses her mouthful and then sits or lays down to eat. The male is not as relaxed as she is, and is quite jumpy, when people walk down the lane or we move about.
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