The picture I posted last night of the bold vixen was one of well over a hundred I took during a 30 minute period out in the sub zero temperatures. She was absolutely her usual friendly self, despite not having been around since late October. Well, I say she hasn't been around, but that's not quite true. She has appeared on the trail cam footage, most notably on the first video I posted on 19th December. If you check the comments on that post you'll see a short discussion about a fox with either matted hair or bald patches.
Now look at this.
The bold vixen with 'alopecia'..
The patches run down one side of her, and have a light covering of dark under-fur. There are signs of some regrowth, and no signs of any wound. I'm utterly puzzled by what could have caused it, but it is quite unlike the usual signs of mange and looks more like 'injury' than disease. Here's a close up.
In a discussion over on Wild About Britain, there have been several theories proposed, from a car exhaust to moult to some signs of shaving. It's unlikely that I'll discover the cause but I wouldn't be entirely surprised if she's had some sort of intervention to tidy it up, whatever it was. It doesn't look like the result of a bite (badger?) as I would have expected to see some more obvious scarring. She's otherwise very healthy, though she has picked up a small scar on her nose.
In terms of her behaviour, she hasn't changed a bit, and it took only a few minutes before she decided to settle down for a bit of peace and quiet.
All of which means I've not had time to post about other recent sightings, which include a little egret from several days ago, and further encounters with the local kestrels.
Camera note: all the photos of the fox were taken with the Canon 40D and EF 24-105 F4L IS USM lens. The kestrel was photographed with the EF 400mm f/5.6L USM lens.
Tabmartel
3 Jan 2010Awesome close ups.
It's possible she could have a fungal infection.
From my mobile the spot on her nose looks more typical of ringworm than anything else.
Mickeyjoe-Irl
3 Jan 2010We'll probably never know, I'll bet it is quite a tale though.
gdare
4 Jan 2010No matter what, it is good to have her back and in good health :up:
Tabmartel
4 Jan 2010I agree whole heartedly.
I will take a closer look from a computer later today for ya.
I can't distinguish any scar tissue from my mobile.
cakkleberrylane
4 Jan 2010Great to see her back! My daughter's dog had a similiar reaction from a shot from the vet. It's dark like that too and in several years, it has not changed.
Words
5 Jan 2010Mickey, I'm sure you're right 😉
Words
5 Jan 2010Tab, I hadn't thought of that, but could be. I think the mark on her muzzle is a bite wound (very common among foxes!), but the body has me puzzled.
Words
5 Jan 2010Lois, that's odd that your daughter's dog had a reaction like that. I doubt that's the case here, but it will be interesting to see how long any re-growth takes. Mange usually takes about a month to recover a reddish cover of hair.
Words
5 Jan 2010Darko, yes always good to see her.
Tabmartel
5 Jan 2010Yah, I can't get a good look at it from my mobile…going to a pc now.
SittingFox
5 Jan 2010That is weird – I haven't seen that myself, but maybe it was a (somewhat unusual) pattern of mange that is now regrowing its fur. :confused: Maybe someone else in your area has been giving her ivermectin. Oh well, as long as she's on the mend.
She looks as pretty as ever, anyhow 😀
Words
5 Jan 2010Adele, treatment somewhere else is a possibility but I would have thought I'd have seen some signs of it developing. I'd need to review the trail cam going back for about 8 weeks to see if I can trace her movements. If she was treated then it would have had to have been following capture, and then release around 19th December. It might of course explain her absence from the garden.
Words
5 Jan 2010LOL! Wouldn't it just 😆
SittingFox
5 Jan 2010It would be so much easier if they could talk :right:
gdare
5 Jan 2010😆
Flying Red Fox Blog
5 Jan 2010Yikes it looks a bit yucky but shes doing well with it.
Nice pics though. 😀 cold out there.
Words
5 Jan 2010Mark, and getting colder, much colder :psmurf:
Ukwildlife
6 Jan 2010More great fox photos. Perhaps the vixen ahs annoyed a barber at some point? 😆
That kestrel in flight is marvellous
Words
6 Jan 2010Neil, it was good to get back finally to photographing foxes, even with lousy haircuts 😉 Now I want her to turn up in the snow! The kestrels have been excelling themselves lately.
Kelly
9 Nov 2014Found this entry while trying to figure out the cause of a very similar bald patch on ‘my’ fox. He didn’t have it 4 days ago, so its too sudden to be recovery from anything. It doesn’t seem to be bothering him, though its puzzling. His fur is scalped in an area roughly 4 inches wide/long, with little red dots in a couple of places. Have been wondering if he’s been in a fight with another fox and perhaps had a very large chunk of fur ripped out.
Words
9 Nov 2014Kelly, I never did find out what caused that, but it seems more likely to be injury than disease. Our fox wasn’t bothered by it at all. She had a fine family of cubs a little while later.