…and this time she wasn’t alone. Unfortunately this was the best photo that I was able to get of them, as they didn’t hang around for long. In the few moments that I saw them I had assumed that the one at the back of the photo was a cub, because it was slightly smaller and had a brighter coat than the other fox (which I believe is the same one I photographed in an earlier blog, although hard to be sure).
However, having researched the life cycle of a fox, I’m not sure that’s right. Cubs are apparently born between March and May and then spend about the first 12 weeks of their life dependent on the mother, remaining in the den or very close by. So you wouldn’t expect to see a new season fox out and about until June.
In this helpful website, they mention that although foxes are usually found in monogamous pairs, it is common for urban foxes to have other adults present, in addition to the breeding pair. These additional animals (sometimes called helpers) are subordinate to the dominant pair and are generally the pair’s offspring, which remained with their parents past the normal age of dispersal when the family should break up. So my guess would be, that it is a cub from the previous year, that has remained with its parents through the winter.
