red fox
Rare Red Fox Sighted at Yosemite
Sierra Nevada red fox / National Park Service photo
It’s been one hundred years since a sighting of the Sierra Nevada red fox has been confirmed in Yosemite National Park. Also known as the High Sierra fox, it is a subspecies (vulpes vulpes necator) of the red fox (vulpes vulpes) and was captured on camera in Yosemite in mid-December, 2014. The California Fish and Game Commission declared this exceedingly rare subspecies threatened in 1980, and it could receive federal protection under the Endangered Species Act this year.
The Sierra Nevada red fox is slightly smaller and darker than the more common red fox, which is non-native to California. It’s range is limited to alpine and subalpine meadows above 4,500 feet.
Consensus at Green Creek: A Barnburner!
Huntsman Tot Goodwin and the Green Creek Hounds / Erik Olsen photo
It’s always fun to hear a day’s hunting described by different members of the hunt. Years ago I would ask Mrs. A how the day had been, and she would assure me, “They ran and screamed all day.” When Mr. B was queried, he said, “They had a bit of a flurry.” When Mr. C was asked the same question, “They didn’t do a thing.” This past Thursday, however, everyone at Green Creek Hounds (Carolinas) agreed it was a barnburner!
Hounds met at Coxe Road where a few of the young entry thought the deer they saw were worth a go. Puppies were reprimanded, and they hacked obediently through the woods to East Green Creek Road. It was a cool, misty morning with great scenting conditions. This is known as coyote country. Tot sent the pack into covert and allowed them to trail for ten or fifteen minutes, and then they opened. All hounds were on (thirty couple), and the cry was ear-splitting.
The Foxes of England
Greyhound Fox / Courtesy New York Public LibraryFoxhunting Life reader Janet Clarke asks, “I was told a long time ago that there are different types of foxes in the UK. Is this true?”
We consulted Nigel Peel, MFH and huntsman of the North Cotswold Foxhounds, and Martin Scott, ex-MFH of the Vale of the White Horse. Both men are highly regarded foxhound breeders and judges of foxhounds in England and serve as members of FHL’s Panel of Experts. Their answers were not only surprising, but it appears that the story may be yet unfolding.
Erik’s First Fox
Lightning flashed, and thunder rumbled all through the night. With the dawn a quiet reverence prevailed. Horses and riders filed silently through a North Carolina pine forest. An occasional "Hound, please" was heard.
It was August and the beginning of Tot Goodwin’s and Green Creek Hounds’ summer hunt week. Scent was quickly diminishing with the rising heat and humidity.
Confessions of an Unrepentant Fox Feeder
The first time I saw Redmond was on a snowy afternoon in February, 2005. It was the closest thing to love at first sight that I’ve ever experienced.
Confessions of an Unrepentant Fox Feeder
The first time I saw Redmond was on a snowy afternoon in February, 2005. It was the closest thing to love at first sight that I’ve ever experienced.
Hunting Sedately in Bath County
(Thanksgiving, 2007)
The Bath County Hunt (VA) can be an exercise in sedate foxhunting: extraordinarily beautiful, particularly toward the closing days of autumn, but often a somnambulant snooze. Surely, there is sport at Bath County, even good sport, but no one expects the thrilling pace of a mid-winter foxhunt in Orange County territory. In truth, Bath County is expected to be relaxed, somewhat slower paced.
