Life is just full of surprises, and you just never quite know when a seemingly simple, boring day will turn into a memorable one!
Illinois man Shawn Davis woke up one May morning earlier this year expecting another run-of-the-mill sort of day, but was astonished to peek outside his window and spot a pair of little foxes strolling around in his backyard.
He’d never seen anything quite like it before, and this story was only just beginning!
Shawn and his family live in a residential area, surrounded by other homes, so they definitely didn’t expect to spot some foxes walking around their property. But then, one day, two of them were spotted playing together on the patio.
Before long, others had joined them! It seems like the first two had acted as scouts, checking out the yard and seeing if it was a safe place to play, before the others came along.
“After that, we started seeing more and more foxes,” Shawn explained in media interviews, adding “After that first day, we started mainly seeing the mom and five kits. The dad came by a few times, but I think his job was to mainly provide food while they were learning to hunt.”
In total, seven foxes were spotted in the backyard: a mom, a dad, and five adorable, playful babies.
Pretty much every day from that point on, Shawn would look out of the window and spot the seven forest friends wandering around outside.
They strolled across the patio, climbed on the yard toys, and slept in the shady spots beneath the trees.
It was quite a magical experience for Shawn and his family, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. With everyone being cooped up indoors due to the coronavirus pandemic,
Shawn says that he, his wife, and his daughter were all really excited to see something so special right out of their own windows each day. It gave them something fun to look forward to when waking up, brightening the loneliness of lockdown.
With the pandemic going on and us spending so much time at home, it was great entertainment for my wife, daughter, and I to be able to watch them grow up and play! We didn’t realize they were so playful and that was fun to see. Aside from sleeping in the day time, they would chase each other and would all play fight and grab each other’s tails. They also liked to gang up on the mom, who wasn’t afraid to dole out some moves of her own. We put a trampoline out at one point, and they liked to pounce on each other.
It sounds like the whole fox family had a lot of fun, and these wonderful pictures, taken by Shawn and his family, show just how comfortable the critters have been getting in the backyard.
Still, as time went by, the visits began to happen less often, and Shawn says he only really sees a couple of the foxes now and again these days, believing that some of the cubs have probably grown up and moved on.
It’s certainly possible that they’ll come back again next summer though, and it’s great to know they found somewhere cozy to call home for the last few months.
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