Fox Behavior Question

[Bopper]

Preface - We don’t have a lot of foxes where I live and I don’t want to kill them.

We have a fox family that lives on the neighbors property. Lot of mice, etc for them to eat between all of our pastures. Lately they have been coming in my arena most nights and digging small holes. I drag it and the holes and foot prints are back the next day. We have a fox on the game camera. They seem to be playing in the sand based on the foot prints because they are random and some have slide marks, etc.

Does anyone know why they might be digging the holes and playing in my arena?

There are usually 3 holes about 3" deep and 3" wide in the same general area. Nothing is in the hole except some leaves which could have blown in there but there are no trees near by (maybe 100’ + away). I would like them to stop but it really is not hurting anything so if they continue that is okay. The area around the arena is pasture and my arena is just a sandy area (our soil is mostly clay with silt so not easy to dig into).

[Simkie]

Is there any chance you have voles or something in your footing?

[hoopoe]

My first thought is that your have an underground burrow. Fox can heard underground scuttling. I would do a good close inspection of your outside arena walls and look for sign of entry points

[Libby2563]

“My” foxes like to do this in my outdoor arena too. Occasionally I find dead animal parts buried or partially buried in the footing but sometimes just shallow holes like you describe, or dead animal parts left on the surface. I wonder if yours are considering burying something there then change their mind? Thankfully mine have only ever dug into the base once that I know of and it wasn’t by much.

Mine also like to bury/partially bury dead animal parts in my stall bedding and the loose stonedust in the run-in shed. I think there are currently two squirrel tails in the shed. I don’t appreciate the gross presents but I do love my foxes!

[FitzE]

@Simkie

Is there any chance you have voles or something in your footing?

This was my thought, too. They hear a creature moving through the footing, do a surgical strike, pull it out, and off they trot with their quarry. Could you move the wildlife camera to catch them in action? Might be a fun/funny little video capture.

[Bopper]

Thanks for the responses. I don’t think that we have voles or anything similar in this area. There are burrow lines in the sand that are very small so I think they are insects but the holes are not near the burrow lines. The cameras have gone to the hunting camp for the next several months so I can’t video the activity.

Thanks for the input. I have not found any dead animal parts around but one of the neighbors has found some feathers a bird parts in his pasture a few times.

[js]

Armadillos dig a lot, don’t know if you have those in your area. We had 2 fox that stayed around our former place, they never dug holes, armadillos sure did as did a few turtles.

[Bopper]

We have lots of armadillos but there are no armadillo tracks in the arena and the holes are no like armadillo’s holes.

[EmilyM]

My foxes pluck all the flowers out of my jumps and spread them around. Ocasionally, they leave me a dead offering. Often they will dig but I have no discernible reason why. They just love to play in the sand. I have seen it once, and it is as cute as you imagine.

[TKR]

PLEASE don’t hurt them! Such adorable, playful creatures that have had a hard time surviving the coyotes!

[starsandsun]

Mine play in the arena also! Sometimes they leave me dead things, sometimes I find things far far away from where I left them. I love having them around, just for the amusement.

[mmeqcenter]

@EmilyM

My foxes pluck all the flowers out of my jumps and spread them around. Ocasionally, they leave me a dead offering. Often they will dig but I have no discernible reason why. They just love to play in the sand. I have seen it once, and it is as cute as you imagine.

This all sounds like the cutest thing ever and though I feel OP’s annoyance, I would love to see video of both your foxes! :lol::lol:

Anyway, a scent fox repellent might be worth a try, or a motion-activated sprinkler.

[jawa]

Skunks will dig conical holes looking for grubs.

[secuono]

Foxes that live here quickly discovered my arena-in-progress. They poop all over it & dig tons of little holes. I haven’t seen anything actually in the holes.

[ThreeFigs]

They’re fun to watch, but boy, do they stink!

[FitzE]

@ThreeFigs

They’re fun to watch, but boy, do they stink!

And the sounds in the wee hours!! :eek:

I hate that song “What Does the Fox Say?” because I know what the fox says and it sounds like a woman being murdered in my back garden!!

[McGurk]

I love playing people YouTube videos of foxes’ vocalizations, especially the screams, because NO ONE believes it until they hear it. My second favorite, after the screams, is the chattering, or gekkering.

I have no useful advice for the depradations to your arena footing, besides the obvious suggestion of moles or voles. However, foxes are silly and playful, much like cats playing with prey and they could have been chasing a bug or a leaf or some other foxy amusement.

[Libby2563]

Huh, interesting that people say they stink. Mine sometimes spend a lot of time around my barnyard and I’ve never smelled them one way or another.

I thought of this thread a few days ago when I found cute signs of fox activity the morning after I dragged my arena. One area had a smooth spot in the middle of a lot of footprints, like they had buried something then covered it up (I didn’t find anything though). Another area had furrowing paw marks that looked like pouncing or playing.

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[Libby2563]

And just because, some of my favorite photos of the culprits, from earlier this year.

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