May 29, 2014
Swift Foxes, Pawnee National Grassland, Colorado

I got to see the Swift Fox (Vulpes velox) kits for the first time yesterday at the den I've been photographing this year. No foxes were out when I arrived early in the morning, but after waiting for about an hour the dog, or male, came out. After he determined that the coast was clear, he called out the kits. Two came out right away and then a third came out. They didn't go very far from the entrance then went back down. A couple of minutes later they came back out again and that's when I made this image. They stayed out for about 20 minutes then went back into the den. Unfortunately, that might be the last time I see them. As I was driving away, another vehicle pulled up and stopped near the den. I drove slowly to keep an eye on the vehicle and two photographers started to get their camera gear set up outside their vehicle. I checked a nearby area, and on my way back by the den, the other photographers were packing up. When Jan and I went to the den in the afternoon, there were vehicle tracks out in the grass that stopped at a nice distance from the den for photography and a second set of tracks that went right next to the den. The dog, that was out resting when we arrived, was very skittish and ran away up over the hill as we reached the same location where it was quite content the previous afternoon. It didn't return while we waited, and no foxes were visible when I returned to the den this morning and waited. So, we'll check the den again this afternoon, and if there aren't any foxes, we'll start looking for another active den.