I decided to spend a week at my lake house at P.K. sitting on the deck this morning I saw a fox run by to the lake to get a drink, she came back later with her two babies and just chilled around there. My first thought is you have two bows out here; they are in bow range, ten years ago I'd have me a new fox hat and mittens out fox fur... I just can't do it; they look too much like a dog and I guess age is catching up to me. I sent the picture to my hunting buddies, they are had the same response...PUSS...I guess I am.

I wouldn't have taken a mom and her 2 babies either, especially in that environment.

Cool thing to see though.

They are cool critters. I don't get why people ever shoot them or any other predator for that matter.

Nice pic. I don't shoot foxes unless they look sick or acting strange. Don't shoot many bobcats either. Like to look at them even though the deer hate them and get spooked quickly.

Very cool.

On a side note, I wonder who thought this was going to be a "hump day revisited" thread

Foxes are way cool.

I can't shoot Bobcats either; they don't bother nothing. I will smoke a yoke into kingdom come.

Awesome video teedubyaw That was really cool.

They will demolish a quail population, a 10 lb fox can easily kill a 5 lb lamb, if predator population are not controlled they can take a major toll on the species that people make a living off of, or that people like to hunt. That's why predators are hunted.

X2 When I was younger I would have but not anymore.

I doubt they are going to find too many sheep or quail out here at Possum Kingdom at Sky Camp. If I had a place out in the country with chickens and sheep, that would be another story. This one is probably the one that has been out here a couple of years, it's almost domesticated, it's not afraid of people. Two years ago I was fishing with my grandson at the dock and it or another one came with in 20 yards of us and just sat there watching us.
If they become a problem out here I'm the first one they will call since I bow hunt and have been out here over 12 years.

I'm not saying i kill every fox that i see... actually most of the time they will get a pass, unless i'm entered into a contest because they do a good job of keeping rodent populations down. They are awesome animals to sit and observe, back home we had a female red fox that lived out in the middle of a big field for several years it was fun to just sit and watch especially whenever the kits began to come out of the den. My reply was to the guy saying that he doesn't understand why people hunt predators.

Foxes have lived in every area of Texas especially during a time when quail thrived. Nature is not something that can be controlled properly by humans, thats the point. Farms and Ranches have been in places that have much larger predators and thrive. You can't remove predators from an ecosysem and think that is the right thing. You are manipulating nature for your own enjoyment, which is your own right, unfortunately.

Every time you kill a predator you are creating a larger supply of prey which in turn creates a higher demand for predators to control the inflated supply.

Great pics.

"You are manipulating nature for your own enjoyment, which is your own right, unfortunately."

I raise cattle and have lost a lot of cows and calves over the years to predators. Not much I hate more than finding a calf born the night before with its side chewed out and its guts eaten away with its mama standing there trying to get it to its feet. I actively hunt coyotes and occasionally a fox will show up. I do not hunt foxes per se but have shot a couple because of the chickens. Skunks, racoons, possums, etc. are also predators. Along with the explosion of feral hogs over the last few years, I don't see a quarter of the quail coveys or broods of wild turkeys that I did 25 years ago. I have never shot a duck, don't plan to but I fail to see that predator hunting is manipulating nature any more than duck hunting. I am sure duck hunting is enjoyment for you as predator hunting is enjoyment for me. Just sayin'................

you forgot the fireants, kill em all

its nice to just enjoy nature, I used to live to quail hunt, got to the point that I would rather watch the dogs work and let some one else shoot, many times sat in a blind and just enjoyed watching wildlife, never picked up the gun.

... I really want one as a pet now...

I can understand your point of view but there are ways to prevent some of that from happening without killing them.
When I kill a duck, I eat it, I hope you are not too hungry to eat a yote. Killing the top predator in an ecosystem greatly impacts that direct geographical are wheras a migratory bird does have as great affect. But I do agree that both is manipulating.

No, I ain't that hungry yet but it stops that coyote from eating any more of my calves. I have ranched here since 1979 and believe me, there has never been a shortage of predators, coyotes or otherwise. There may be better ways to protect my livestock from predators, I would welcome any suggestions, but I am not aware of a cost effective alternative. I am not looking for an argument, I simply feel that we have the right to protect what is ours, to legally hunt what we choose and to enjoy the freedoms our military heroes provide us. More power to you on your duck hunting, enjoy life, it is too short not to. I will continue to hunt predators without remorse or apologies as I am helping to protect my way of earning a living. No disrespect, let's just agree to disagree. Thanks for the civility in your response.

I believe we are the top predator.

On another note I have too much fun watching foxes to shoot them.

Also, let Mother Nature control the predator population and they die a lot more brutal death. Compared to starving to death or death from mange and a bullet to the head doesn't seem like a bad way to go.

I do have to say when I lived in the country I had yotes kill several of my sheep, two dogs, and drive my horses crazy some nights, I know it was coyotes because I could hear them doing it. However I saw a grey fox a lot of morning crossing my road to the black top, I never bothered him, he just went on his or her way. I know one thing for sure, the rat and mice population are in check because of the foxes. There has to be a balance.

I had a friend that he and his brother hunted a lease south of Colorado City. The land owner had a lot of sheep on his place. Several of the hunters would go out and kill as many rabbits as they could, they estimated they killed thousands in the time they were out there. When the rabbit population was diminished so did the sheep population. There has to be a balance; too many rabbits in an area can also reek havoc on produce!

If it came down to my livestock and predators, the predators would be kept in check as much as possible with whatever means necessary. I don't have any livestock anymore but we do have a small place just north of Cisco and hogs are rampant and we kill off as many as we can. We had eight feral donkeys take over two years ago, we didn't see a hog or a deer for the entire year. We contacted everyone in Eastland Co. surrounding ranches, game warden, sheriff, some told us to just kill them, of course we didn't. I don't know where they went, we turned off all the feeders and finally they all left, hogs, deer and turkey are back in good numbers. It's all about balance.

I agree with bar-d on everything he's said... when your family's livelihood rides on the livestock you raise, you take every opportunity to raise your production which includes elimination of predators.