An unexpected tryst with the Bengal fox

An entire family of the rarely spotted Bengal fox graced the lens of a photographer recently, in Tamil Nadu

June 05, 2021 12:56 pm | Updated 12:57 pm IST

Peekaboo Three of the foxes shot by Karthik special arrangement

Peekaboo Three of the foxes shot by Karthik special arrangement

When Chennai wildlife photographer Karthik Ramamurthy realised he would be spending this lockdown at his home in Kanchipuram, he anticipated the rural joys of birdwatching and clear, starry skies. What he did not expect, however, was to chance upon a creature he had not seen since 2011.

“It wasn’t just one of them; it was a whole family. Two adult Bengal foxes, and two puppies, playing in a trench,” says Karthik about his recent late evening tryst. Out on a walk with an eye out for birds, he could not believe his luck when he spotted them. He only had binoculars with him then, but could not give up on the thought of a picture. “These foxes are notoriously difficult to catch sight of, because they are nocturnal, and even harder to photograph because they are quick,” he explains.

Sure enough, when he came back next morning, the spot was empty. In the evening, he saw them, but they saw him too, and the puppies scurried away immediately. “It was only by the third day that they got used to my presence. I took care not to scare them; I stayed inside my car, by a bush, a good few metres away,” says Karthik. So it was on day three and four that the family was carefree in its movements again, allowing him to take some treasured shots from afar with his trusty 600 mm lens.

After that, the puppies began to move out. “They were nearly grown anyway, so I assume they started going out to hunt for themselves. I only saw the family for a week,” he says, and what a memorable week it was.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.