There are three or four adult foxes here, and sometimes it's hard to keep track of which one we are seeing at any given moment. They have varying amounts of white on their tails, but sometimes it's not as evident. I can go by how they act - some are more shy than others.

It looked like there were two mother foxes, but I couldn't figure out where one of them belonged. Because up until lately she never went near the family group of mother, father and seven babies.



A few days ago she went over there a couple of times, and faced off with the babies. I think she is one of last year's babies, which is why the other adult foxes tolerate her - she's their daughter.

Yesterday I was startled to see five more foxes - little tiny white-colored - over there in the same area as the first babies, and they appear to live in the same den.

Here's one of new babies with one of the parents and some of the larger babies looking on.



While I was watching one of the mother foxes started nursing the new little babies, and one of the older babies managed to pull one of them aside, latched onto its neck, and started shaking it. Eventually the mother realized what was going on, and she went over there. She couldn't get that baby away, and for awhile they were doing a tug of war with it. Eventually she got it, carried it under the house to where the den opening is. It was probably dead. The attacking older baby followed her.

I expect that all of these new babies are going to be killed, and in some ways I am not sorry because twelve baby foxes is just too many. But I don't want a front row seat to the murder and mayhem.