I’ve just returned from a trip to Nothern Ontario, and here’s the wildlife report: Along Highway 599 between Pickle Lake and Ignace, at least, it’s high season for roadside red fox sightings.
Not like last time I went, in springtime, when there were bears and moose both in abundance. There’s nothing much for moose to browse on along the highway now, with the leaves down and snow covering the dead grass. And the bears have no doubt lumbered off to bed for their long winter’s naps.
So red foxes are the main tourist attraction on that stretch of road, and from what I could see, that suits them fine. They seem to delight in watching the world go by, as the sun is rising along the lonely northern highway.
They see you first, of course, from a safe perch on the shoulder, but you get a good minute or so to look at them if you’re lucky, before they trot away out of sight.
Red foxes are handsome creatures, especially in their winter fur. They have charming faces with almost cheerful expressions. And they’re smart, too. You’d never see them at all if they didn’t feel sure they had a good head start.
You catch sight of a fox and and there it goes, making its merry way off down into the ditch and out across some frozen creek-bed, casually glancing back over its shoulder to watch your vehicle disappear.
That’s how it is with red foxes. You get a fleeting glimpse. You’re intrigued; you want to see more. You try to follow it, as far as your eyes can track it, but that’s all you can do. After you’ve seen a few of them that way, you may be in awe of the spirit of the red fox… but you don’t know foxes.
And no matter how many times you see a fox running the other way, along the side of a highway, you’re never going to get a real understanding of foxes that way.
Not when you’re moving so fast. A fleeting glimpse is all you get. Time to take a quick picture, maybe, if you’re lucky.
Funny, though, how long you can mull over that one brief moment, and how you find yourself longing for the next.