Young fox dives headfirst into snow to hunt field mice buried deep beneath
SWNS
2023-03-30
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A young fox was spotted hunting its prey by diving headfirst into a thick layer of snow.
Wildlife photographer Colton Lockridge, 32, captured the stunning footage on the outskirts of Edmonton, Alberta.
Footage shows the animal nosediving to skilfully capture field mice buried deep beneath the snow.
Colton initially planned to photograph snowy owls but spotted the red fox from his car while approaching the area.
He set up his camera on a tripod in an inconspicuous place nearby and after about an hour, the fox returned.
Colton, from St. Albert, Alberta, said: "I was originally headed out to film a snowy owl in the winter frost - which I did end up doing - when I happened upon the fox pouncing in the snow on my commute.
"Initially I parked the car and waited to see the fox's reaction.
"It wandered away, so I went into the field a bit and set up my tripod and camera hidden in the snowbank.
"I had to subtly get into position without flushing the fox away completely and ultimately waited for it to hopefully return to my area of the field.
"I would say I waited a solid hour before it even decided to come back in my direction.
"After shooting a little bit a car drove by and spooked it again, so I waited another while for it to come back in my direction." He said.
After spending at least three hours waiting around and managing to capture the animal hunting, Colton decided to stop filming and enjoy the moment.
"The fox eventually meandered to a thicket of trees and disappeared from sight as the sun went down," He added.
Colton praised the fox for its nimble skills and patience when on the hunt, which is not seen in the video.
"While not shown, I would say this fox had remarkable success.
"I don't know if they are always that successful at hunting in the winter, but this particular vole probably had a 50% success rate when diving.
"Their hearing is just astounding as well; you could see it sneak into position and listen carefully.
"I also didn't show how long the fox would sometimes listen for the rodent, but there were times it would stand and listen intently for 30 seconds to precisely hone in where its food was under the snow."
The footage was captured on January 19.
Wildlife photographer Colton Lockridge, 32, captured the stunning footage on the outskirts of Edmonton, Alberta.
Footage shows the animal nosediving to skilfully capture field mice buried deep beneath the snow.
Colton initially planned to photograph snowy owls but spotted the red fox from his car while approaching the area.
He set up his camera on a tripod in an inconspicuous place nearby and after about an hour, the fox returned.
Colton, from St. Albert, Alberta, said: "I was originally headed out to film a snowy owl in the winter frost - which I did end up doing - when I happened upon the fox pouncing in the snow on my commute.
"Initially I parked the car and waited to see the fox's reaction.
"It wandered away, so I went into the field a bit and set up my tripod and camera hidden in the snowbank.
"I had to subtly get into position without flushing the fox away completely and ultimately waited for it to hopefully return to my area of the field.
"I would say I waited a solid hour before it even decided to come back in my direction.
"After shooting a little bit a car drove by and spooked it again, so I waited another while for it to come back in my direction." He said.
After spending at least three hours waiting around and managing to capture the animal hunting, Colton decided to stop filming and enjoy the moment.
"The fox eventually meandered to a thicket of trees and disappeared from sight as the sun went down," He added.
Colton praised the fox for its nimble skills and patience when on the hunt, which is not seen in the video.
"While not shown, I would say this fox had remarkable success.
"I don't know if they are always that successful at hunting in the winter, but this particular vole probably had a 50% success rate when diving.
"Their hearing is just astounding as well; you could see it sneak into position and listen carefully.
"I also didn't show how long the fox would sometimes listen for the rodent, but there were times it would stand and listen intently for 30 seconds to precisely hone in where its food was under the snow."
The footage was captured on January 19.
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