The mating season of foxes. The mating season of foxes. Mating foxes.

In the breeding work with the fox, the main attention is paid to increasing the reproductive ability of animals and improving the quality of the skins. This is achieved by improving the herd of each farm and importing high-quality young stock from breeding farms. To improve reproductive ability, young animals are selected from medium and large litters from females with good maternal qualities and are properly prepared for breeding. It is necessary to exclude random overlapping of females by different males, which does not allow us to evaluate animals by the quality of offspring.
Each farm determines the desired type of foxes by the structure of pubescence and color, as well as the leading trait, the improvement of which will most likely increase the economic effect of breeding. The length of the hair (awn, down), the size of the silver zone and the pigmented tip of the spine are signs that are determined by multiple genes. These features of inheritance must be taken into account in breeding work.
Breeding for lengthening the hairline often leads to the appearance of collapse, drooping hair on the sides and excessive development of the mane - lengthening the hair in the neck and shoulder blades.
Lightening the pubescence of foxes worsens the color of the skins and usually increases the severity of the defect - cross section of the spine. This is due to an increase in the pubescence of platinum hair due to a decrease in silvery and fully pigmented hairs, as well as an increase in the silver zone due to a reduction in the length of the pigmented tip of the spine. The clarification of pubescence is usually combined with the appearance of a light veil, the severity of which depends on the ratio of the length of the pigmented tip of the spine to the width of the silver zone. Studies have shown that platinum hair is more prone to cross-section and breakage than silver.
It is necessary to take into account the structural features of the hairline of animals when determining the feasibility of their delivery. Thus, the importation and mating of foxes with different lengths of spine and fluff can significantly change the manifestation of silverness and the severity of the veil in descendants due to a change in their ratio between the silver zone and the pigmented tip of the spine.
To eliminate the defects of pubescence during scoring, note the degree of cross-section and piled up hairline, the presence of mane. Parents giving unwanted offspring are discarded. In order to prevent cross-section, which is widespread in animals with clarified pubescence, it is recommended that breeding is performed to reduce platinum and increase the silver spine in the hairline. For this, foxes with 100% silver should be mated with foxes having a 75% silver. If there are puppies with cottoniness in the litter, it is recommended to discard the entire litter.
To the greatest extent they meet the modern requirements of a fox with a black shiny awn, an underfur of dark gray, a pure white silver ring 10-15 mm wide, a well-defined belt and a cross on the shoulder blades. A large amount of platinum hair in pubescence is undesirable. It should be left to the tribe of animals with 90% silver with a normal veil and 100% silver with a heavy veil. Foxes with 100% silver and a light veil for uniform pairing are not allowed.
Content.  Foxes are bred in different regions of the country: in the northwest, north and in the center of the European part, in Ukraine and Belarus, in the Volga region, in the Urals, in Western and Eastern Siberia, in the Far North.
Until 1945, foxes were kept mainly in cages with an area of \u200b\u200b3x4 m with a wooden floor. They were replaced by smaller cells [(2-3) * 1.2 m] with a mesh floor raised above the ground. Currently, sheds for foxes are most often equipped with 290 cm long, 95 wide and 65 cm high cells, which can be divided into 2-3 compartments by plug-in partitions. For periods of pregnancy, whelping and lactation, a nest is inserted into one of the compartments. Females in these periods occupy the entire cage. After depositing the young, the house is cleaned, and the walk is divided by partitions into 2-3 compartments and 2 young animals are placed in each compartment. Each compartment has a door and a rotating trough inserted into a wooden frame embedded in a mesh wall. In practice, another type of feeder is also provided, which has the appearance of an external shelf inclined at an acute angle to the wall.
Cells for foxes can be with stationary houses of the same size, but the number of cells in sheds is reduced. The house is installed between the walks, each of which can be divided into two compartments.
Males are kept in sheds, in walks of the same sizes as for females. Walking length 3 m, height 1.0 m. Walking can also be divided into 2-3 compartments and contain young animals.
The plug-in house for foxes (its size is 75x80x55 cm) consists of a nesting compartment and a “front” one, has a round hole with a diameter of 25 cm. The bottom is mesh with a wooden removable floor, double walls are for heat. The stationary house is larger (75x90x65 cm), a nest is inserted into it, the gap between the walls (10 cm) is filled with insulation material. The house has a common wooden roof and two separate ones - one located above the nest, the other above the "front"; the floor of the house is double mesh (permanent) and wooden (inset). The "front" is connected to the range with a wooden pipe with a valve.
In the Far North, in the forest-tundra and tundra zones there are strong snow drifts, therefore, ordinary sheds and cages for keeping animals of the main herd are unsuitable here. Sheds are placed on stilts with raised flooring in the aisle. The height of the racks (from the ground to the floor) is 50-60 cm. To protect against wind, sheds are built with a closed corridor, raised flooring in the aisle and mesh walks extending beyond the edge of the roof.
In the northern regions, foxes enter the race a little later, because due to the shorter length of daylight and low light, the onset of the breeding season is delayed. Animals are kept in cages with well-lit walks, and during the preparation for the gon they use electricity.
Preparing for the race.  Caring for adult animals in the summer-autumn period involves feeding, drinking, cleaning cells, monitoring the health of animals; in addition, they control the live weight of animals and the course of molting.
In practice, preparation for the rush of adult animals should begin after the young have deposited. It is necessary to carefully monitor the condition of females exhausted - plenty to feed, periodically show the veterinarian who can prescribe them vitamin or medications. Depletion in the summer months entails an increase in animal waste, a deterioration in the quality of their hair and a decrease in reproductive capacity in the next production year.
In August, foxes begin to prepare the body for reproduction: follicles appear and grow in the ovaries, and in November the uterus grows. At this time, feeding should be improved accordingly.
In summer, the ovaries in females are approximately 2 times smaller in size than during estrus. At the end of August - September, they increase, follicle growth is noted, the walls of the uterus grow. At this time, the concentration of sex hormones in the blood rises in both adult and young females. At the end of December - January, the precursor changes are found in the female genital tract.
In this period (late August – early September), males also show activation of the gonads, which is especially active in November – December: testes increase by 2–3 times compared with the summer period, androgen levels in the blood sharply increase.
The metabolism of foxes has been declining since the end of July, resulting in increased live weight. In December, with normal preparation, it is 30-40% higher than in summer.
Changes in metabolism and the development of genital organs depend on the length of daylight hours. Violation of the light regime (keeping animals in dark cages, late transportation to another household) negatively affects the development of their genitals, while additional lighting contributes to earlier periods of estrus in females. To accelerate the onset of the rut, young females, in which estrus usually occurs later than in adults, are planted in open cells.
To control the preparation of animals for the gon take into account their weight and fatness. Medium-sized young and adult females should weigh 6 kg by December 1, males - 7 kg. In poorly trained animals, the race is delayed; many females can bring few puppies or even be left without offspring.
It characterizes the condition of animals and the course of molting. If the loss of summer hair is delayed or winter hair grows late, this indicates a violation in the body of the beast, which can affect reproduction. In late June - early July, the summer spruce of young animals begins to be replaced by a winter one; in the second half of August, the shift is intensive. In adult foxes, the hairline begins to change in April and actively proceeds in May - July, in some it lingers until September.
After scoring, the main herd is finally completed. The animals remaining on the tribe are seated in cages that are pre-repaired, cleaned and disinfected. A stencil is hung on each cell. All animals are checked for sex, the presence of a tattoo on their ears, and that the number on the ear matches the number indicated on the stencil. At this time, the breeder serves not only breeding animals, which he prepares for future breeding, but also animals intended for slaughter.
During the slaughter period, fur farmers, as a rule, participate in fur processing processes, therefore less attention is paid to breeding animals. This fact may adversely affect the puppies' output in the next production year. First of all, this applies to females and males first-year-olds, whose growth and formation of the body ends during this period, and therefore they require enhanced nutrition compared to adult animals.
Gon.  The rutting period for foxes begins in the second half of January and ends in mid-March. Usually, in young females, the race begins a little later than in adults (especially with poor preparation for the race).
Before the start of the rut, the state of the testes in males is checked - they must be elastic and well developed. Males with poor testes are not allowed to cover females.
The fox hatchling lasts 7-11 days, the female hunts only once during the entire breeding period and lasts 2-3 days. Skipping a hunt entails the loss of litter this year. The onset of estrus and sexual hunting can be determined by the behavior of animals and the condition of the external genital organs (loops). From January 15-20, every 3 days, the status of the loop is checked in females. After its first changes are noticed, which usually within a few days precede the hunt, the check is carried out in 1-2 days.
Changes in the external genitalia of females go through several stages. The first stage - the loop weakly swells, whitens and becomes noticeable upon examination. Urine in the female acquires a characteristic color. If couples are planted, the female begins to play with the male. This is the first, precursor stage, which lasts 2-3 days. The second stage (1-2 days) - the loop swells even more. The third stage - the transition to hunting - the loop swells strongly, becomes convex, the females take a defensive position in relation to the male. The duration of the stage is 1-2 days. The fourth stage - hunting - the loop is almost round, dark, a small amount of mucus is visible. During this period, when replanting the male, coating occurs. This stage lasts 2-3 days. The fifth stage is the beginning of peace. The swelling of the loop decreases, it turns white. At the beginning of this stage, coverage is still possible. Then the female does not admit the male.
Some females, especially young ones, may have a “silent” estrus, in which all these changes in the genital organs are very weak. In order not to miss the hunt, such females should be regularly planted with males, even if their loop does not change.
Each animal department should have a notebook with female numbers. It regularly records the course of estrus and the state of the loop.
There are two methods of conducting the rut: 1) in females, in a day they examine the state of the loop and those who have estrus started, they plant it in the male attached to them; 2) to the males, in turn, after 1-2 days, all females assigned to each of them are seated (regardless of the state of the loop). Having adopted the second method, one should nevertheless check the status of the loop in females, since due to insufficient activity of the male, hunting in the female may be skipped. If changes in the female’s loop characterize the hunting period, it should be planted with the male understudy.
Females are planted to males 30-40 minutes after feeding, when the animals are most active. It is not worth it to plant pairs immediately after feeding, as animals that have just eaten are passive and do not pay attention to each other. You can also plant animals in the afternoon, after a 2-3-hour rest of the male. The female is left in the male cage for 40-50 minutes. Coitus lasts from several minutes to 1.5 hours, an average of 20-30 minutes. It is impossible to interrupt pairing. After the first mating, the female is planted with the same male for re-coating over the next two days.
Ovulation of eggs in females occurs within 2-3 days, so the mating that occurs on the second day of hunting is most desirable. The male sperm is stored in the female genital tract for about a day, about the same time an ovulated ovum is able to fertilize. When mating on the second day of hunting, sperm is able to fertilize the eggs that ovulated on the first, second and third days of hunting. In the case of mating on the first day, sperm may die before ovulation of the eggs, when mating on the third day, the eggs released on the first day may die. With repeated mating, the number of missed females decreases.
Sometimes, to activate the females, the following technique is used. At the beginning of the rut, 3-4 females are transplanted into open cages; daily or every other day, different males are transplanted to them for several hours. If the female comes into hunting and begins to allow the male to mate, she is immediately planted and the next day is planted to cover the male assigned to her. In the event of an unexpected coating, it is necessary to mark the females, for example, paint their tails. This makes it possible to establish which of the females is covered and which is not.
If on one day two females are planted on the male, he is given two mating - in the morning and in the afternoon. Covering the females with two different males is not recommended, as it does not increase the yield of the puppies and also makes it impossible to establish their origin. This is possible only at the end of the race, when the sexual activity of males and the usefulness of their sperm decreases. All puppies from such mating go to slaughter.
To identify the condition of the female, the behavior of the hatched animals should be especially carefully monitored for the first 20-30 minutes.
Among males, covering females are sometimes found, but not fertilizing many or none of them. Therefore, it is necessary to assess the quality of sperm under a microscope. Covered females after estrus and “recession” loops are considered pregnant. They are planted in already prepared cells in which they have to whelp.
Pregnancy and whelping.  Pregnancy in foxes lasts 51-52 days, sometimes 49-54 days. In most cases, its presence can be determined by the appearance of the female. In a pregnant female, by the 40-45th day of pregnancy, the abdomen increases and slightly sags. She becomes calmer, slower, lies a lot. Pregnancy can not always be determined by appearance, some females do not change externally up to whelping. To determine pregnancy, females are probed 24-26 days after the last mating, and in the morning before feeding. The animals are carefully picked up so that they cannot move, and they carefully probe the abdominal cavity (rough handling is unacceptable, as this can lead to an abortion). In a pregnant female, embryos are palpated as small, chain-shaped formations. Sometimes, when there are few embryos, it is easy to confuse them with lumps of feces, so if there is no certainty, the test should be repeated after 2-3 days.
With the early determination of pregnancy by probing, it is possible to kill females that missed with good pubescence in early spring, without overexposing until the fall. Currently, without offspring, an average of 13% of females remain. The reasons for the omissions can be different: resorption of the fetus, abortion, premature birth. It is sometimes possible to establish an abortion by the presence of traces of blood, residues of the fetus, greenish-black color of feces, which is observed after the female eats the fetus.
Care for pregnant females consists in their timely feeding and careful handling. Noises, unusual for animals, must be avoided so that they are not frightened, uninterruptedly supply water, and to maintain cleanliness in houses and cages.
In the stencil of each female affix the estimated date of whelping. It is determined by adding to the coverage date 51 days. Houses and cages are prepared 10-15 days before whelping: they are thoroughly cleaned, disinfected, a dry clean nest is inserted into the house. In cold weather, in addition, the house is insulated: insulation material is placed between the bottom, walls, ceiling of the nest and the house: hay, straw, shavings, etc. In the sheds, the house is inserted inside the cage. In warm weather (above 8-10 ° C), the house should not be insulated, as the female will be hot in it, and it may change in a cage where puppies can freeze.
In the northern regions, before a whelping, a partition with a hole is inserted into the nest. The manhole in the partition in severe frosts is closed with a canopy of tarpaulin. The nest is placed on a layer of insulation material, the side walls and ceiling around the nest are insulated, as well as the front in the houses. The nest and front are filled with litter. At very low temperatures, the houses are insulated from the outside.
During whelping on the farm establish the duties of fur farmers. The attendant monitors the behavior of whelping and recently whelping females. In case of a dysfunctional birth, he assists the females or, if the case is complex, calls a veterinarian.
Puppy in foxes begins on March 10-15 and ends in early May. Normal birth lasts 1.5-2 hours, 1-15 puppies will be born.
Before puppies, many females change their behavior. They either restlessly run from the cage to the house and vice versa, or scrape the walls of the house, or do not leave it at all. On the eve or on the day of puppies refuse food.
On the puppy born, the female tears the placenta with her teeth and nibbles the umbilical cord. Holding the placenta with her teeth, she shakes her head and frees the puppy from her. She quickly licks a wet puppy, transfers it to her stomach and covers it with her tail. After 30 minutes, the puppy is already starting to suck milk. Inspiration of females is judged by the squeak of puppies, which is periodically distributed from the house. Puppies squeak if the female disturbs them with her movement. Fed, healthy puppies, when the female calms down, quickly stop squeaking. An abnormal squeak indicates a trouble in the nest.
Upon examination, pay attention to the condition of the puppies, their position and behavior of the female. Normal puppies weigh 80-100 g, are covered with dense short hairs and lie in a bunch, they are dry, warm, with rounded bellies filled with milk. Puppies scattered around the nest actively slide into a heap. The female grows 6-7 puppies well.
When examining each puppy, they take it in their hands, because among them may be weakened or frozen, which are difficult to identify in the total mass. In addition, premature and dead puppies may appear in the litter.
Adversity in the litter is often the result of the fact that the female cannot be born or has a poor maternal reflex and poorly cares for puppies, or puppies are born very weak.
If the litter is large, weak puppies should be dropped off to a newly-born female with a small litter (2-3 puppies).
The trouble in the litter, the poor condition of the puppies is caused by the fact that the puppies cannot suck well due to the presence of fluff around the nipples of the female. In these cases, fluff must be removed. Often, puppies cannot suck because the mammary glands of the female are very elastic and overfilled with milk. Excess milk squeezes and massages the glands. If the female has little milk, she is additionally fed, and part of the litter is sedimented.
Growing young animals.  Young growth is recorded on the tenth day after puppy, given the total number of puppies born and their condition. The first 20-25 days, puppies feed only on mother's milk. Two weeks later, puppies open their eyes and ears, teeth are cut.
Often, one or two puppies in the litter lag behind in development. This may be the result of poor maternal qualities of the female or the occurrence of diseases in puppies, including vitamin deficiency C (red-legged).
If the puppies cannot suck, and the mother does not pay attention to them, they are kept in wooden boxes heated by electric lamps. It is necessary that the temperature in the box does not exceed 20-25 ° C. A higher temperature is detrimental to puppies.
Every 4-5 hours puppies are fed. First you need to wipe their abdomen in the direction from the chest to the lower abdomen and remove the excreted feces and urine. When the weakened puppies are strong enough, they are laid to the female.
Weak puppies and puppies with signs of red-footed are always given 1 ml (a whole eye dropper) of a 2-3% solution of ascorbic acid with glucose in one go. Depending on the condition of the puppies, ascorbic acid is given once or 3-4 times a day until completely cured. The presence of red-legged puppies is noted in the stencil of the female for her subsequent culling.
In the case when the female has little milk, a nurse is used to grow young animals.
Some females carry their puppies. This can be caused by the excitement of the female due to any unusual noise, the presence in the nest of a dead or weak puppy bothering the female with her squeaking, as well as mastitis (hardening of the mammary glands) if the puppies do not suck well. Sometimes females drag puppies for no apparent reason. In this case, they limit the area of \u200b\u200bthe cage or close the female in the house. With a lack of milk in the mother, puppies are raised in the nurse.
On the 20-25th day of life (and with a lack of milk from the mother before), puppies begin to feed. The feeder is put in a house.
The introduction of top dressing is associated with rapid contamination of the houses, so they should be cleaned regularly. With the onset of warm weather, the nest is removed from the houses, and at high temperatures, the plank floor is also removed.
Growing young animals.  Puppies are planted at the age of 45-50; if the mother has little or no milk, then a few days earlier. Usually all puppies are immediately planted and kept together for several days, and then they are seated two in a cage (same-sex and same-sex couples).
When breeding foxes, individual branding, animal tattooing are used. Youngsters tattoo in June - August (at the age of 2-3 months) - a number is applied to the inner, hair-free surface of the ear.
The ear is pierced with special forceps with numbers inserted into them. They rub black mascara into the punctures. The serial number of the beast is usually applied to the right ear, and the last digits of the year of birth are to the left ear. Each year, serial numbers begin with the first. The tattoo number must match the one indicated in the calf magazine.
In pedigree farms all young animals are tattooed, in commodity farms - young animals of the tribal core. The rest of the youngsters are assigned a conditional number, which is recorded in the puppy's stencil, which is not hanging in its cage.
From 3 to 5 months in puppies, milk teeth are replaced by permanent ones. In the first months of life, puppies are especially active in growing limbs, then the trunk. By the age of 6–7 months, the young growth is close to adult animals. The most intensive growth is observed in foxes up to 2 months (weight increases by 20-27 times), then it slows down, by 5-6 months young growth has the size of adult animals.
Growing young, carefully monitor its development and the course of shedding hair. Each month, control groups of animals are weighed, which allows you to monitor their growth. At the age of about 2 months in foxes, starting from the muzzle and paws, the outer hair appears, by 4-5 months it develops throughout the body. These signs serve as the main indicators for the preliminary selection of breeding young in August. Discard poorly developed animals and with deviations from the normal course of molting, as well as with poor silver.
Tribal animals and animals intended for slaughter, create the appropriate conditions. Tribal people are fed plentifully and kept in well-lit cells. The rejected animals are kept in shaded cages, so that their skins do not deteriorate under the influence of sunlight, and the maturation of pubescence is accelerated.
To obtain high quality fox skins intended for slaughter, comb in September - October 1-3 times to remove fallen shed hair. In September, they reduce their diet, otherwise the spine will overripe and split.
Daily work on the farm during the rearing period of young animals boils down primarily to good feeding and regular watering of animals, as well as to maintaining cleanliness on the farm and especially in houses. When animals are kept in clean cages, cases of their disease are almost eliminated, the skin has fewer defects.
Slaughter begins in the second half of November. Initially, it is conducted selectively, since not all foxes have pubescence matures at the same time.

Her mating season starts from the end of January - in February, and in the north and in March, although even before this one can often see a male and a female in pairs.

At the wedding time, in March, several males look after one female, and fights between them are a common phenomenon. During the rut, foxes are very excited, often yapping and howling, especially loners who have not yet found a mate.

The voices can distinguish between male and female. She makes a triple take-off and finishes it with a short howl, and fox barks more often and more, like a dog. Having retired, couples play a lot, even arrange peculiar dances: they circle one another on their hind legs.

Male foxes are wonderful family men. They not only take an active part in the rearing of young animals, but also touchingly take care of their girlfriends long before they give them lovely little foxes: they carry food, landscaping holes and, they say, even look for fleas from them.

It happens that a female becomes widowed before or after the sensation, then single males will certainly take on the role of a stepfather, and look after adoptive cubs and their mother no worse than their own father. And what's more, foxes take care of babies so much that sometimes they fight among themselves for the right to be a father or stepfather.

And the female is watching the fight and is mainly concerned that her children get a stronger beast, and the father or stepfather is indifferent.

Young in the litter is from 4 to 12, but most often 5-6. They appear after a 51-53-day pregnancy, usually in late April or in the first half of May. Puppies are born weak and helpless, deaf and blind, weighing only 100-150 grams, but grow quite quickly. In less than a month they already see, hear, weigh about 1 kilogram, leave the hole, and soon begin to play and frolic. Parents from this time on bring half-dead game to them, so that the children acquire hunting skills.

The cubs in infancy are brown in color and very similar to cubs or puppies of a raccoon dog, but they have a distinctive feature: in foxes, as in adult foxes, the tip of the tail is white.

In the summer, father and mother have to hunt day and night to feed their lean, leggy and gluttonous babies. Within a radius of 2-3 kilometers from the nest, they destroy all or almost all rabbits, many birds, even mice, become noticeably smaller.

At this time, parents are extremely careful. Once a person even accidentally stumbles upon a brood hole, the next night the foxes will be transferred to another place, to a spare hole; there are usually several of them in foxes on the site. If puppies are in danger, adults will discover an amazing presence of mind.

Even when a person tears a hole with a shovel, they are trying to the last to save their children - to withdraw through one of the snouts. At the age of one and a half months, young growth begins to go hunting with their parents and quickly masters all the wisdom. At this time, energy and indefatigable fun overwhelm the foxes. They are constantly in motion, play among themselves, stick to the elders. Often they express their puppy enthusiasm with a squeal and barking, sometimes endangering themselves and the whole family - suddenly their people or wolves will hear.

By November, yearlings become adults and begin an independent life. Usually they scatter where and where. Males go away, for 20-40 or more kilometers, females an average of 5-10 kilometers, rarely further. Everyone is looking for a plot and a marriage partner. A mother occasionally lives on the same site with her children until the next "wedding."

In autumn, 40–70% of yearlings in the fox population. This indicates a high fecundity of the fox and good survival of young animals. It should be noted that foxes have a “poor sense of home”. If they are caught and taken away, they will not strive to return to their father’s house at all costs, but will settle on a free site. Of course, this does not apply to parents who feed offspring.

In captivity, the fox lives 10-12 years, while in freedom her age is much shorter. In the population, usually half of the population is young, a quarter is second-year-olds, 12-15% are those who are in their third year. For 3 years, few have managed to "pass" - about ten out of a hundred. And over four years old foxes in nature are very rare.

The economic activity of man does not only harm the fox, but even improves the conditions of its existence. This beast willingly settles where forests are cut down, in drained and open swamps. The expansion of acreage is also favorable for the fox. In terms of adaptability to a wide variety of conditions, a column can be placed next to it.

A fox is not afraid of a man, unless he, of course, pursues her. These very cautious and distrustful animals, it happens, live not only near villages, but also within the boundaries of large cities. Once I had to see a fox on the outskirts of Khabarovsk: she sat quietly at the side of the highway and looked calmly at the bus.

And when the car stopped and people began to get out of it with a noise, Patrikeevna slowly, looking around and as if smiling, trotted away. Once in the Amur-Ussuri Territory, I happened to observe how a fox calmly looked at the Tu-104, which had just come off the runway with a roar.

In one of the busy districts of Odessa, a fox lived and even successfully bred for a long time. Her hole with five exits was placed in a dense shrubbery near a pedestrian road. Judging by the fact that in her brood there were nine foxes, she lived well in Odessa.

And in Novorossiysk foxes have chosen a quarry of a cement plant. They are so accustomed to people that they not only did not hide from them, but went out to meet them and took refreshments directly from their hands.

In some parts of England, foxes have fully mastered vast agricultural land, began to populate cities: they live in parks, eat at landfills, and they make holes under warehouses. They inhabit and successfully breed even in the center of vast London. In the big city of Birmingham, foxes lit a fair amount of dirt - after all, these animals are not very clean. The city’s veterinary service with the help of hunters catches foxes and takes them to the forest, and after a while the animals return to the city again.

It can be concluded: if people do not chase animals and are friendly to them, then four-legged animals easily get used to a person, are not afraid of him, live with him side by side. And not only foxes, but incredulous stone martens, and they settle in cities; there were a lot of them in Voronezh, their numbers increased in Berlin, Bern. In Magdeburg, there are more than a thousand of them; they began to hunt them right in the city.

The fox has always been and remains an interesting and valuable game animal. One thing is bad: it is a distributor of rabies and other infectious diseases, it harms sports hunting. In a number of countries they destroy her for this, believing that russians, partridge pheasants, even for fine fox fur, are too expensive.

It is obvious that strict control over its numbers is necessary. And one more thing: we must not forget that the destruction of many rodents, it brings great benefits to agriculture.

In nature, foxes are most often heard during the rutting season, which occurs in mid-latitudes in February and March. Under favorable conditions, it is possible to regularly, every night, for two to three weeks, listen to the voice of one, and sometimes several foxes at once. Especially fox voices in cold nights. The signal characteristic of this period of the life of foxes is a series of sounds consisting of four to eight barks. By ear, he is perceived as a quick, melodic "co-co-co-co-co." Some naturalists believe that the series of three jerky barks, ending with a stretched monophonic howl, belongs to the female. The barking of males is cleaner, jerky, without howling. However, it should be noted that specialists in the field of sound communication do not find a connection between the nature of vocalization and the sex of foxes. Judging by the sound behavior of other dogs, in particular domestic dogs, this opinion, apparently, should be recognized as fair.

The rutting signal of foxes, often referred to in the literature as the stanza of the bark, serves to establish contact between males and females located at a great distance. If the male comes into close contact with the female, he emits a rhythmic stanza of grunts. With strong excitement during rutting, the stanza bark takes a strictly defined form and consists of the number of individual sounds typical of each individual.

During the mating period, foxes often gather in groups and run in a row, forming the so-called fox weddings: usually in front of the female and several males behind her. Fierce fights often ensue between males, which are accompanied by threatening signals typical of the agonistic behavior of these animals - piercing screams like the howling of a siren.

With agonistic behavior, foxes emit warning cries that serve as a signal for restructuring partner behavior. Most often this is a low-frequency, prolonged growl, which in some cases can be mixed with barking, screeching, yapping and snorting. An increase in the animal's excitement in alarming situations that cause him to growl is the reason for the rapidity of his breathing and, together with this, the rupture of his sounds, an intermittent barking occurs. But barking compared to yapping is still a longer sound. Yapping is perceived as a more sonorous sound. The spectra of these signals are also significantly different. Barking is a sound signal accompanying the moment of the attack, but it can also perform the function of warning other animals about danger, in the latter case, its duration increases.

Agonistic behavior of foxes is associated with various other signals: screeching, trills, trembling, or tremolating, sounds, whining and screaming. Often in this situation, yapping is combined with screeching elements that indicate the subordinate nature of the relationship: the signal of subordinate individuals sounds louder than the yapping of the dominant animal. Sound signals are combined with appropriate gestures: a subordinate beast wags its tail, presses its ears, stretches its lips.

The spectra of most of the sound reactions characteristic of the agonistic behavior of foxes are close, having a common feature - broadband. The differences relate mainly to the duration of the signals and the presence in them of certain high-frequency components. The appearance of the latter, apparently, is associated with an increase in the level of excitation of the animal in case of conflict. Such a wide range of screeching and whining of a subordinate individual at the climax of the fight. The spectra of trills and trembling sounds are characterized by the presence of the same two well-defined maxima. But these sounds sharply differ in their duration: a longer sound is a trill. The shortest sounds of foxes are yapping. It is known that sonorous yapping emits a subordinate animal, and deaf - the dominant individual. Depending on social status, the frequency characteristics and whine of foxes change: the dominant individual has a lower frequency of this sound than the subordinate.

Fights between foxes die out only at the end of the rutting season, peace and silence reign in the forest. In the repertoire of sounds of these animals, the stanza bark lasts only for a while. But now she serves to communicate within the couple. Often it sounds like a weakly dissected “ku-ku-ku-ku-ku” and differs from the “ko-ko-ko-ko-ko” tone by a higher pitch. At the end of the rut, some couples diverge, and before mating, individual males compete again due to pregnant females. Only after this the foxes finally break up into pairs, and the male together with the female takes an active part in the preparation of the hole, and then in the upbringing of the young. A month after mating, the male begins to bring prey to the hole. At the same time, he grumbles and whimpers. The stanza bark is still combined with these sounds, but then it gradually disappears. An inviting grunt of the male is heard more and more often at the time of feed delivery to the hole: a low, often repeated "UV-UV-UV". Hearing this sound, the female, preoccupied with the born foxes, leaves the hole.

Hunting foxes, especially well-organized or conducted by an experienced lone fox, in my opinion, is one of the most interesting winter hunts. Of course, I do not mean bogging on snowmobiles, with the rich booty of which the newly baked "hunters" so much boast today. Of course, they mean hunting with flags, from the approach, from the tower at the witches and other honest ways. And you need to master the technique of these hunts in order to succeed. However, the opportunity to shoot a fox can be presented at any winter hunt, especially in late February and early March. When foxes start a race, it is often possible to meet a fox wedding or single males scouring in search of a girlfriend. These meetings can happen by chance, but you should always be ready for them. So, random encounters with foxes.

The bullet is not stupid

This happened in one of the richest animals and a hunting farm located near Moscow.

It was the second day of the hunt. Over the previous day, a moose and a sika deer were caught, but I was lucky to take two boars with a doublet. He hunted with a double-barreled "markel", because The old Browning submachine gun began to delay reloading. Two sure shots are enough to stop any beast.

The second day promised to be just as interesting. We had to shoot a few more animals. In the very first corral, arranging the shooters according to their numbers, the head of the hunting estate warned that there were a lot of foxes, and recommended laying down a shot in one barrel. “Some nonsense,” I thought. “I will be good with a shotgun loaded if boars or deer come out.”

Charging the Merkel with bullets and disguising himself as much as possible, calmly looked around. Winter hunting is generally very beautiful, and especially in bright sunshine. I admired the sparkling snow and involuntarily imagined how a bright red fox would look like it against its background.

“Maybe still charge one barrel with shots?” - a thought flickered somewhere deeply. “No, nonsense, there wasn’t enough to miss because of this serious beast.”

A shot rang out from the depth of the corral, screams were heard - the corral began. I stood on a narrow clearing, attentively looking at a rather frequent fir-tree located right in front of me. Looking right, he suddenly saw what he had imagined just a few minutes ago. About forty paces, among the Christmas trees, not even a bright red, but a bright red fox crept in.

“I won’t have time to recharge,” flashed through my head. “I will shoot a bullet.”

I know from experience that a frightened fox will not immediately jump over the clearing, it will certainly stop. When the beast is hiding behind a tree, I quickly direct the trunks to where the fox should appear. As calculated, it happened. Going to the edge of the clearing, the fox stopped and began to turn its head, inspecting a clean place. I shot at the head sticking out from behind a branch. Spread out in the snow, the animal only waved its tail a couple of times.

“Nice shot,” I thought, not without complacency. And then again the thought: “Or maybe now charge the fraction?” - “Well, no,” I laugh at myself. “Two times the projectile doesn’t fall into one place.” He raised his head and almost choked on his own laugh. A fox is rolling right at me, this time a bright red. I throw up the gun and wait for it to come. You have to shoot again with a bullet. Fifty steps, forty, thirty ... the fox stops and, looking up, looks at me carefully: apparently, she noticed a suspicious object. An ideal moment for firing shots. I have to carefully combine the bar with the front sight, point it right in the face, and I do not have time to press the trigger. A split second earlier, the fox, spinning in place, shows me its tail. I shoot him, of course, past.

I scold myself with the last words. After all, he had noticed earlier on a hunt with flags, if the beast is looking directly at you, it means he suspected something, and you need to shoot right away, hesitated - and miss.

For a long time I stood holding two cartridges in my hand: one with a bullet, the other with a shot. “Well, that’s completely stupid, it certainly doesn’t happen three times,” I dismiss any doubts and once again load the bullet. The next twenty minutes pass quietly, and I stop groping for a shotgun cartridge in my pocket. As it turned out, in vain.

The beaters were already approaching when, looking to the left, I was already surprised to see a bright yellow fox on swoops rushing to the clearing. This one definitely won't stop. I aim at the tip of the nose and, choosing a clean hollow, I shoot. A potential collar flips over his head. A contented smile still shines on my face when the fox, jumping up, hides behind the trees for several leaps. Absolutely stunned, I run to see what happened, the benefit of the corral is over. On the trail are a few drops of blood and shreds of dirty, gray wool from under the throat. So, I made a mistake only a couple of centimeters. Fifty steps is not so bad, but there is no beast.

Approaching rangers congratulated me on a good shot. Still, killing a fox with a bullet is not so simple. I was terribly upset. When three foxes will come out on the number.

Still, I think that I did the right thing without charging a fraction. Hunting a large beast can not be risked.

Once on a moose hunt, after the signal “Ready”, a fox came at me. She ran in a strange way, making ridiculous jumps. The moose was shot, and I decided to shoot, since it was only thirty steps before it, and the place was open. After the shot, the fox remained where she was. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that the neck and forepaw are engulfed in a steel loop. My shot stopped her torment. The bullet tore up the fox’s stomach, not ruining the skin at all.

Recently gathered for foxes in the suburbs. Arriving at the place, he unexpectedly met a familiar company of hunters who had a "moose" license for moose. For several consecutive days off, they have not been able to realize it. The case was approaching the closure of the hunting of ungulates, and I was asked to help in the shooting. I didn’t smile at all, I wanted to hunt for a fox with flags, but it was inconvenient to refuse. In addition, all the huntsmen left with the elk trees, so there was no choice.

Standing on the number, with longing I removed the cartridges with the shot away and loaded the bullets. And, as always happens, a red skin flashed at a very wrong time in the distance. The corral had already been going on for about forty minutes, but there was still no shot at the moose, so I had no right to shoot the fox. On this score, the agreement was strict. Neither the fox nor the hare shoots before the elk is shot. Defiling in front of me in the paddock, the fox went back. After another 10 minutes, a doublet was heard in the chain of shooters, and immediately after it there was a cry: "Reached." And at that very moment I saw the fox again. This time she flew to me at all costs. I did not have time to reload the cartridge for a fraction. I had to shoot a bullet. Taking aim with a little lead, he fired. It was one of my most successful shots. The bullet hit the fox in the head and completely did not ruin the skin. So, with a successful set of circumstances, a bullet is not a fool.

Triplet

It happened at the end of winter. In the area where I often hunt foxes, I had a bait and built a tower. Foxes regularly visited her. But terrible bad luck haunted me all season. My partner and I, for greater attractiveness, tossed, like a delicacy, herring heads and chicken bones. All this was eaten with pleasure by foxes. But to get at least one did not work. Firstly, the redheads got into the habit of wandering around the field all day around a hitch. At first I tried to sit on the tower at five in the evening, but the animals were already right there. Then it settled down at two o'clock in the afternoon or early in the morning - it was also useless: one or two patrol animals did not allow them to approach the barn secretly. In addition, they simply mocked us. Once we saw a girl riding a sled from a mountain, and literally a hundred meters from her a large male calmly moused. But as soon as it seemed to us, the tramp was immediately washed away. If I sat down, having scared them off beforehand, everything was in vain, at least midnight freezing, the animals did not come.
   We used all the recommendations read in the books and the advice of experienced foxes. They came up to a sitting, talking loudly, and then the partner left, singing songs, already alone. Nothing helped. My comrade had fun heartily, standing on a hill and watching from the side, as a fox sticks its face out of the bushes, then bypasses my ambush and leaves for a neighboring field. So, probably, it would all have ended, if not for Mr. Case.

That day I took my wife to the forest to show the tower and my "tame" foxes. It was the middle of the day, but, to my surprise, both visible fields were empty, although there was a decent frost. Glancing for several minutes, we, not hiding, moved across the field to the tower. I showed my wife a bait gnawed by foxes, many traces and animal trails. Before heading home, he looked around the field for the last time. I still can’t understand where it came from, but in the direction of the forest, on the edge of which we stood near a bait, a fox walked in large swoops.

In the middle of the field there were bushes, but from our side they were visible through. I had a gun, but the fox went into the forest a hundred paces away from us. While wondering where she came from (there was no question of a shot at such a distance), and his wife enthusiastically chirped about the beauty of the fox skin, the beast jumped out of the same place where it had disappeared and rushed off to the bush. In just a couple of seconds, a second and immediately a third ran after this fox. Both rushed to catch up with the first. Without moving, clinging to the trees, we watched this picture - my wife was bewitched, and I, frantically thinking what could be done. Finally, the animals stopped among the bushes and began to play. Obviously, it was a flowing bitch and two males, because both pursuers were constantly biting each other. It was February - the time of the fox rut. The ideal situation was created: I ran 100 meters of forest and stood on the entrance tracks of the wedding company. It was clear that after the beater, bypassing the field, pushed the animals, they would rush into the forest with their trail, and you just need to quietly go around them.

The blow rang out from where I did not expect: my wife suggested that I would not go anywhere because the foxes would attack her, bite and eat. Can you imagine my despair? My colorful paintings of the three fiery red skins thrown at her feet did not help. Saved only a categorical ultimatum: either in the pen, or divorce. Wailing something through her tears, she still went on a mission. I, that was strength, but, trying not to make noise, rushed to the alleged move of the beast.

I just managed to. There were about a hundred steps to the bushes, and from this point the animals could not be seen, but as soon as I stood behind a lonely Christmas tree at the edge of the forest, all three beauties appeared. A small bitch ran ahead, and after her about twenty paces, both males, noticeably larger than her. In the oncoming shot, it is very important to choose the moment when the beast or bird, after seeing the hunter, or after the first miss, is no longer able to turn around and go back or slip behind the hunter. In my situation, when shooting a head fox, one or both dogs had a chance to go back to the corral, so I decided to start with them.

Having thrown the red-haired couple of steps thirty, I hit first one and then another. Not looking at the result, he threw the gun under his feet, hoping to see a bursting bitch. If she had not changed direction, she would have had a chance to slip into the forest. But for my luck and my misfortune, the fox shied away from the shots to the side and, as the tankers say, set up the side. With a third shot, I laid her down, preventing me from reaching the forest. Both dogs remained lying a couple of meters apart.

Hunt with mank

A few years ago, sorting out a hunting belongings, accumulating in a box for years, I came across a plastic decoy. He lay for at least twenty-five years. The nostalgic inscription “price of 40 kopecks” amused me, and I put it in my pocket, going to the cottage at the beginning of winter.

He published a mournful meow, presumably depicting the cry of a wounded hare and, therefore, was a decoy to the fox. For two years he served me and my permanent partner and neighbor in the country with great entertainment. One had only to get out of the bus and go down the path into the forest, shout at him 2-3 times, as all the nearby jays, magpies and crows with grunting, chirping and croaking rushed to his call. The young hunter collected his gun and trained in shooting before a serious hunt. At the same time, we cleaned the forest of all this hooliganism. But that year, the decoy showed itself as a professional precisely in the business for which, in fact, it was intended.

Everything turned out by accident. It was nasty weather. The column stood at plus for the second week. The snow, which covered a decent layer of the earth, melted and disgustingly squished underfoot. It was dripping from the branches, and as soon as I went into the forest, after ten minutes I got wet through. Tormented by idleness, a neighbor suggested going out to the edge and shooting, as the Germans say, black game. I agreed, but since I, with my 40-year-old hunting experience, shooting forty seems not solid, I did not take my gun with me, deciding that I would only beckon. How regretted it! Moving slowly along the edge of the forest, I periodically let out a cry of a hare in trouble. Those who wanted to feast on a free hare were found very soon. From the depths of the forest there was a chirp of at least 4-5 forty, but, apparently, our silhouettes were projected against the background of snow that did not quite descend into the field, and careful birds did not fly up to us. Noticing the forest road, we turned onto it. A companion began to hide the dragonflies, and I walked slowly along the road, occasionally shouting into a decoy.
Suddenly, something flickered in the forest, and in front of a hundred meters, a real fox rolled out onto the road and with a confident, easy gallop moved towards me, apparently also counting on a hare. Having managed to take a step to the side and clinging to the edge of the road, I froze a pillar. Running up steps by 35, the fox stopped. Moreover, she did not look at me, but towards the partner, who continued to steal the forty and did not suspect the guest either by sleep or spirit. The moment for the shot was perfect, and I once again cursed myself for not taking the gun.

Finally, the wrestler with the magpies cracked especially loudly with something, and the beast instantly disappeared into the bushes. Having plenty of grief about the missed opportunity, we went home without any conclusions. What happened seemed to me a pure coincidence. I am a materialist and believe more in red flags and a tower with a privet than in some decoy for 40 kopecks.

The next day the bread ran out, and towards evening we went to the store with the same forest path, where we usually shot black on the way from the bus. This time I took a shotgun, intending to shoot a few pieces for a bait, and in the meantime my partner would hit the bread and back. He ran forward, and I, having reached the nearest meadow, began to attract. But since it was late afternoon and noticeably darkened, no one responded to my plaintive meow. Apparently, the birds had already gone to sleep. There was nothing to do, and, blowing several times in the decoy to clear my conscience, I wandered despondently to meet a friend. So he walked for several minutes, looking at his feet, until he raised his head and was again dumbfounded. A fox again rolled towards me on the same path.

We noticed each other almost at the same time and froze, looking eye to eye. The gun on the shoulder, and even charged in the "browning" seven "dispersant". Actually, it was because of her that I seized the gun.

The novice hunter, several times having missed the “dispersant” in the magpies and pigeons, said that nothing could be shot with this cartridge. I argued that for 15-20 steps cesar and magpie can be taken with anything, even buckwheat. To prove this to him, I charged a cartridge designed for close range. But there are no 15 steps to the beast, and the seven is too small a fraction. In the best case, there will be a useless wounded animal. Therefore, when the fox jumped to the side, I did not even throw up a gun. But I thought seriously. The second case in two days is no longer a coincidence, but a system.

The next day they unsuccessfully trotted a brownling in neighboring areas. Prokhindey climbed under some barn and, coming out from the other side, calmly washed off, leaving us in the cold. It seemed that luck was finally turned away. Nevertheless, in the late afternoon we decided to try the mank option. Preparing seriously. Dressed yourself warmly, left cigarettes at home to avoid the temptation, and set off "along the fox."

Where to guard was determined even in the afternoon, during the hunt for a rut. One corner of the field was completely trampled by old fox tracks. In addition, the remains of cows were once thrown out here, so there were chances. Frankly, I still didn’t really believe in decoys, and therefore I was located at the very edge of the field, taking this time a carbine with me.

Hope was on an idly staggering or mumbling fox, which can be reached for a hundred or more meters. The partner went deeper into the forest and stood with his back to me, controlling the approach. When everything calmed down, I began to beckon.

With an interval of 5-7 minutes, the evening silence was broken by the mournful cries of a dying hare. Time passed, but nothing happened. The field remained sadly empty, and darkness was inexorably approaching. Finally, I stopped distinguishing the fly and lowered the carbine (I hadn’t shot the optics yet and went without it). Still continued to beckon, because shot shot until it was hopeless. At that moment, when I thought it was time to give a hang-up signal, a shot crashed, followed immediately by another and finally, a triumphant cry from the forest: “I killed! Lies! A fox!!!"
   Three seconds later I was at the scene. The hunter's face shone with triumph even in the darkness. Still, it was his first fox, and she lay eight paces from the place where he stood. From the confusing story of the lucky one, I realized that he saw the beast in only twenty steps. The fox ran strictly to the call of decoy. The hunter was on her way. About 15 meters "redhead" got up and began to carefully examine his figure. The gun barrels were directed in the other direction, but he could not move. At that moment, I once again shouted at the decoy, and the fox, rushing to the call, was three meters from the shooter. The first shot, point blank, he missed and took out the beast only the second.

The return was truly triumphant. All evening our neighbors dragged on to look at the trophy. Unfortunately, in the morning it was necessary to leave for Moscow, but the whole winter was ahead, and most importantly, armed with a miracle decoy for forty kopecks.

S. Losev. Magazine "MASTERFOOL" №156

Most hunters, especially beginners, dream of becoming owners of such a valuable trophy as a fox in winter fur ... For a long time I was not able to get this smart beast, although I saw foxes on guard several times, guarding them on long winter evenings, nights and in the morning. He even shot, but everything was unsuccessful.

They sit in a place where clusters of fox tracks have been discovered. The proximity of holes increases the chances of success. Photo: fotolia.com

Only on February 15, 1972 (when I was 23 years old), finally, the kumushka parted with her luxurious fur coat.

I remember that, having handed over the skin to the reception center and received about 10 rubles, I bought myself an electro-gloss for photos, and I treated my parents with candy for the rest of the money.

A lot of water has flowed since then, not a dozen foxes have been hunted, but the first one is remembered as it is now!

The reason for those long-standing failures was that I read somewhere: foxes need to be shot with small buckshot. And so, having loaded five “zeros”, he missed or wounded more than one fox at dusk.

The disorder knew no bounds until it became convinced that for such a hunt cartridges with the first or zero number of the fraction sprinkled with starch are required. Even better, if the fraction is consistent with the narrowing of the trunks.

For my IL-54, I then selected the agreed fraction separately for the right (pay) and left (chock) barrel.

Agreed - when, in a choke narrowing of the trunk, a row of grains of one or another number are placed on the powder pad or wad inserted into it evenly, without gaps (do not forget to remove the wad from the trunk after this operation).

When loading the cartridges in such a way the fraction number is selected, carefully place the pellets on top of each other, layer by layer, pouring them with starch until the projectile weight reaches the selected value. It is better to use folder sleeves and seal the dulets with the asterisk method. In severe frost, they are more reliable than hardened plastic ones, from which the tubular part flies out of the trunk, together with the shell, which is extremely dangerous.

Now about the hunt itself. In the central part of the European territory of Russia, foxes start in late January – early February, and end in late March – early April.

Unfortunately, in March, in the midst of love affairs of the geese, the hunt is already closed. According to my observations, over the past few decades, the race has gradually shifted closer to the spring. If earlier, at the end of January, obvious signs of intense driving were already noted, now it begins in the beginning - in the middle of February.

What are these signs?

Foxes become actively interested in each other's tracks, more often use roads, tracks; separate lines of tracks merge into the trails, each hummock standing in the way, a bunch of grass blades, a column, a snow blade marked with the urine of animals.

Males, just like dogs do, raise their paws, females sit down, leaving a few drops of urine, or even a bunch of litter in a prominent place, thereby informing other individuals about their readiness for mating.

In large clearings and fields, one can see an abundance of racing tracks and jumps, a continuous snowy slab, sometimes even with shreds of fox fur lost in fights. At night, on hiding, you often hear fussing and screeching animals, the rude barking of single males looking for females.

The male is constantly on the move and every 5–10–20 minutes indicates his whereabouts with a rather loud deaf, rude and prolonged three-fold, sometimes four-fold cracking, which can be conveyed by the syllables ––,,,,.

In calm, frosty weather, in open areas, cracking is heard for 500–600 meters, and in windy conditions, it is heard for 150–200 meters. After 20-30 minutes, the bark stops or the animal leaves the hearing zone, but, as a rule, the bark resumes again after the same period of time. On an ambush, the hunter will immediately understand that the beast is nearby, walking in his direction or moving away.

I constantly hunt foxes during the rutting season for a long time, but until now, having heard barking and seeing an approaching beast, I am so worried that my teeth start to beat out, knock at my temples, and my hands shake so that sometimes in the wrong night dusk I shoot by. For some reason, hunting for moose or wild boar does not cause such emotions.

Sometimes you hear a lot of new and interesting things for yourself, time flies somehow imperceptibly. Alone with yourself, amidst the stars of icy silence, for long hours of vigil you will bring your thoughts in order, change your mind and remember a lot of good things, your friends who have already gone into another world, with whom so much has been passed and experienced.

Sometimes you startle from unexpectedness, when tree trunks burst from a severe frost, or ice on the river settles and cracks with a terrible crack and roar.

Or in the morning you watch how everything around gradually turns gray, a village wakes up, someone's door creaks in the frost, roosters scream.

Despite the fact that waiting for foxes often goes to waste, you go to the house skiing, to the distant lights of the village, in high spirits, stretching your stiff legs, and imagine a hot stove in a heated hut and a warm, soft bed.

In mid-February, gray owls, long-eared owls are already starting to shout in spring, hares are crying like children. I remember one unforgettable night in the early 80s in the Uvarovsky hunting estate of the Moscow region. On a large field, during the full moon, on a quiet night with a weak frost, foxes excitedly hacked and at the same time a wolf howled a little to the side. Moreover, from time to time, 300-400 meters were seen either foxes or wolves.

Having sat in the hope of success for five hours in a row, I left without a shot, not at all upset. But an unusual concert was remembered for a lifetime.

Undoubtedly, the higher the hunter is located from the snow surface, the better, but this condition is not feasible when hunting fur species, especially during the rutting season. Therefore, it is necessary to guard the animals most often simply in the snow, behind any tree, stump, hay, snow blow, or even a barn.

Previously, when there were large stacks of straw in the fields, it was impossible to think of a better place. Wolves, foxes, hares and other animals invariably approached them, and sitting upstairs buried in the hay in the chest and looking over the whole neighborhood was warm and comfortable.

Once, an owl even sat on a head in a siren - an owl, which flew around for a long time and hunted mice. Obviously, she took the white hood for a snowy hill. And 20 minutes after that, a hare ran up.

You need to sit absolutely quiet, observing the terrain, and if you need to turn your head or raise your gun, you need to do this with slow, smooth movements.

In this case, it is better if the beast is located behind any bump, in a lowland, or turned its head in the other direction. Throwing a shotgun with a sharp movement, you are likely to miss, as the godfather immediately notices the movement, makes a sharp jump to the side and rushes off.

Clothing should absolutely not rustle and have no pungent odors. Maskhat required. It’s quite difficult to sit for several hours without movement, but it’s impossible with habit. A folding chair, polyurethane rugs and, of course, the excitement of a getter helps. It’s best to wear simple village boots on your feet.

Do not forget to put a small flashlight in the inner pocket of the jacket so that the batteries do not run out in the cold. It is very useful for inspecting the results of a shot, fresh transitions and will help to avoid unforeseen situations on the way back.

In order not to give out myself as a movement, the time spent in ambush, I record, counting to myself the number of breaths or exhalations in a calm state of the body, long ago determining their number in five minutes, an hour, etc. This is done automatically and does not distract attention.

While sitting, it seems that it is relatively warm, but you just have to get up, the body is immediately covered by a terrible cold, and only a long intensive movement gradually warms it, and after a while you no longer feel frost.

In the midst of rutting, it’s better to come to a favorite place before dawn, as foxes often begin to move and hack for another half hour, even an hour before dusk, and sometimes end in the morning with sunrise. By 11–12 o’clock in the morning, the activity of animals decreases and resumes by 4–5 o'clock in the morning.

They sit in a place where clusters of fox tracks have been discovered. The proximity of holes increases the chances of success. Given the direction of the wind, they try to sit behind cover so that there is a large overview of the surrounding area and the bumps, bushes, grass do not interfere much. Do not leave unnecessary traces in the area of \u200b\u200bambush, they alert animals.

It is safer to watch foxes away from the forest wall, then the air flows less often change direction and there is less chance that the beast will take you. Sitting down, mentally mark the dark bumps, bushes, blades of grass and the distance to them, so as not to confuse them with the beast in the dark and know the distance of a reliable defeat. In cloudy weather and on a moonless night, the silhouette of a fox is visible only 30-40 meters, in clear - 80-100 meters.

Unfortunately, the use of any light devices for the extraction of fur animals has recently been prohibited by the Hunting Rules. And their use would increase the effectiveness of hunting, reduce the number of wounded animals, ensure the safety of hunting.

The more foxes harvested, the less likely the spread of scabies and rabies, the more rabbits, bird nests and broods will remain in the land. It is completely incomprehensible what reasons the developers were guided by introducing this paragraph into the designated Rules.

In the dark, with a low landing, it seems that the distance is much greater and shoot far, but in fact the beast is within a reliable shot. During the rut, the male bypasses his territory, periodically hacking, approximately along the same route.

Therefore, sitting in vain, the next evening it is useful to sit close to the tracks in the place where barking was heard last night. Interestingly, the village dogs react sharply to hacking foxes, announcing the surroundings with a heart-rending bark, while foxes pay no attention to them and regularly follow their routes right outside the outskirts.

As in any other hunt, very important, I would even say - decisive, the weather matters. It is useless to go to guard foxes in the snow, especially in a blizzard, rain - they sleep in bad weather, covering their nose with a fluffy tail.

In strong winds, open spaces are avoided, moving mainly along the forest often, ravines and gullies. Air temperature does not have a particular effect on the intensity of the rut. Foxes are hacked at –25 degrees, and at –5, and +3 degrees. A quiet moonlit and frosty night is preferred.

A light breeze favors hunting. But the most successful will be a delay after a prolonged bad weather, when two or three days a snowstorm swept or in a strong wind and the thaw rained.

Nature calmed down, it froze in the evening, and because of the clouds it began to boldly glimpse the low winter sun. Don’t yawn, hunter, do not miss the moment! Foxes lay down all the sides under the tree or in the hole, hungry and yearned for love.

Occasionally, it is possible to see two or even three foxes walking at some distance from each other. Ahead, as a rule, is a female, followed by a male, from time to time chasing an opponent, or even violently fighting with him.

If you manage to disperse the love escort, in accordance with the direction of the wind, hide behind a tree not far from the female’s footprint, but without crossing it, and wait for the male to appear.

Having recovered from his fright, in 30–50 minutes he will again be on the trail of the female to catch up with her. Hunting foxes during the rutting season is very exciting, although not very prey. Try it - you won’t regret it!

Fedor Fedorovich FEDOROV was born on March 3, 1949. He graduated from the forestry college, served in the GSVG (group of Soviet troops in Germany) as commander of a medium tank. Then he graduated from the Forestry Engineering Institute; For 38 years he worked in the laboratory of Forest Hunting VNIILM (All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Forestry and Forestry Mechanization) under the guidance of Doctor of Biological Science Ya.S. Rusanova. Leading Researcher, Ph.D. S.-kh. Sciences (the topic of the Ph.D. thesis is feeding on moose), now a pensioner. Official hunting experience - 51 years.