What is it about foxes and trampolines? by Niki2

REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

What is it about foxes and trampolines?

POSTED BY: NIKI2
UPDATED: Thursday, July 7, 2011 05:56
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Saturday, July 2, 2011 7:47 AM

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

Got this one off PN's story about the elk and marmot, and it's great:

Quote:
They're more used to bounding about, chasing each others' tails and steering clear of humans.

But for these fox cubs, the chance to enjoy a bounce on a trampoline in a back garden was clearly too much to deter their natural caution.

The two were captured on video playfighting in the garden of a home in Colorado, before curiosity got the better of them and they decided to investigate the trampoline.

Perhaps the wild cubs had spotted a child having a go on the trampoline and thought they would have had a try.
But the footage - posted on YouTube by user Samron - shows they hadn't quite got the hang of bouncing as they leapt around on the springy surface.

One of the cubs repeatedly jumps into the air, but forgets to 'bounce' as it lands down again and looks bemused at the top of the trampoline.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2009770/Gymnastic-Mr-Fox-Meet-
cubs-like-bouncing--trampoline.html#ixzz1QyEu1vZC

What's REALLY a kick in the head is it's not the only instance:

Kent, England five years ago:

Colorado Springs, two years ago:

Brighton, UK, two years ago:

Unknown, two years ago:

Is this a movement or something, I wonder?

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Saturday, July 2, 2011 7:59 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

CUTE!

What I learned: The average size of surviving fox litters is 2.2.

They do NOT learn new behaviors by example. The watching fox cubs don't imitate.

However, they are quick to figure things out individually. The fox cub in video 2 lays on the trampoline, enjoying the bounce, until it stops bouncing... then it gets up and makes it move again. The fox cub in the last video clearly differentiates between the moving surface (black) and the non-moving one (blue.)

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Saturday, July 2, 2011 1:42 PM

DREAMTROVE

lol

That's what a ship is, you know - it's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails, that's what a ship needs.

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Saturday, July 2, 2011 5:26 PM

FREMDFIRMA

Maybe they were Kitsune.

We have a fox around here as of late, who I hope hangs around since he/she ate some of those cursed groundhogs/gophers which munge up our landscaping.

They're remarkably clever in their own way, not to mention unbelivably sneaky, certainly a critter I can get along with - but also, while such things are not well explored in the animal kingdom, I DO firmly believe that muchlike crows, foxes DO have a sense of humor... this one seems to very much enjoy spooking critters it has no intention of eating, just for kicks or something.

-Frem

I do not serve the Blind God.

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Sunday, July 3, 2011 11:28 AM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

Sig, you're right, the watching ones don't immitate, and after watching it again, you're right about the one in the second video. I hadn't noticed that initially.

I don't know about a sense of HUMOR, Frem, but howabout a sense of FUN? Otters are the same, they spend the majority of their day playing. And I certainly wouldn't rank foxes up there with crows, who do have a sense of humor, a sense of fun, and are one of the brightest animals on the planet!

Hippie Operative Nikovich Nikita Nicovna Talibani,
Contracted Agent of Veritas Oilspillus, code name “Nike”,
signing off

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Sunday, July 3, 2011 4:26 PM

FREMDFIRMA

Well this one sure seems to be amusing himself, that for sure - he's also amazingly fast, and when he runs he does this leaping bounce sorta thing that almost looks like he's gliding or flying, it's actually quite beautiful to watch.

As for crows, when I was livin with a girl back near eight-mile, I had a pack of "my" crows, which'd do stuff like make crude noises at her (ok yes, I *did* teach em that) which she found something less than amusing...
But one afternoon I get a phone call from her up at the service station where she worked, howling about my crows harrassing her!

Come to find out they had descended on the rack of chips outside, made off with a bag, and then started dropping it from the air behind the dumpster, and when that failed to open it, bombing it with small rocks, which did - and then went and had themselves a little party back there...
Wooo, she was *pissed* - the manager was more amused than anything, since the security cam caught some of it, he seemed fascinated by the mere notion they'd even do something like that.

Of course, I never hear the end of it, for some reason she bears a grudge not only at crows in general, but me specifically, and her wild tales about how well I get on with Corvids make for some fun rumor-fodder, as well.

-Frem

I do not serve the Blind God.

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Monday, July 4, 2011 9:30 AM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

What a gas! We've got a house at the end of our street, and they have this huge tree in their yard (I don't know what kind). For years the crows have gathered there, nested there, had their young, etc.--you can hear all the time, squabbling. Apparently someone's been feeding them, because across the street, the house has a hand-written sign "Please don't feed the crows!" Poor babies!

Yes, the dropping of something to open it, or dropping something ON it, is typical crow behavior. Doesn't work that well with bags of potato chips, but I'd never have any doubt they'd find a way. SMART little bastards, just like ravens.

Hippie Operative Nikovich Nikita Nicovna Talibani,
Contracted Agent of Veritas Oilspillus, code name “Nike”,
signing off

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Monday, July 4, 2011 9:46 AM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

West Nile took out a lot of the crows in my area. They seem to have been slowly replaced with naturalized parrots, which is odd b/c crows are hunters and scavengers, and parrots definitely are not. Perhaps they compete for the same type of nesting site.

Fairly along in the morning I once saw a coyote doing an attempted casual quick-trot down the tracks (nope, nothing's bothering me! I'm just trotting along as fast as I can without breaking into a run for no reason!) while three crows took turns beaking and dive-bombing him from behind.

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Wednesday, July 6, 2011 2:51 AM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

lol indeed.

Trampolines are elevated, clean, dry, and bouncy, so I guess I could see why a young fox might be attracted to check them out.

Or maybe that's just why I like 'em.

" I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend. "

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Wednesday, July 6, 2011 3:52 AM

PIZMOBEACH

... fully loaded, safety off...

Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:

They do NOT learn new behaviors by example. The watching fox cubs don't imitate.

I beg to differ - imitation is exactly what they are trying to do. Only it's not each other, it's humans they're imitating. Imagine if you were a fox slinking through the woods and you hear this commotion and you see through the trees 3 little humans bouncing up and down on this thing... it has to be pretty captivating.
So they're trying to get the thing to *work* only they just aren't heavy enough. If you watch again you can see their frustration as they try and bounce in different positions, feet first, shoulders, etc, just like kids would on one of these. They just can't unlock the magic bouncy thing.

Scifi movie music + Firefly dialogue clips, 24 hours a day - http://www.scifiradio.com

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Wednesday, July 6, 2011 4:09 AM

BYTEMITE

Quote:
Trampolines are elevated, clean, dry, and bouncy, so I guess I could see why a young fox might be attracted to check them out.

Or maybe that's just why I like 'em.

Which one? The foxes or the tramps?

/pun

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Wednesday, July 6, 2011 4:22 AM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

Hee, hee, hee, poor fellow. Crows and blackbirds around here will dive bomb you; usually if you're near their nest, but the crowd down the street never does; I wonder why?

Hippie Operative Nikovich Nikita Nicovna Talibani,
Contracted Agent of Veritas Oilspillus, code name “Nike”,
signing off

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Wednesday, July 6, 2011 4:25 AM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

Pizmo, I tend to agree. They're smart enough, and many other species immitate, so it's more likely that's the explanation. Especially as they tried to jump, that's not something most critters would think to do on their own.

I think they COULD have gotten it to "work"...trampolines don't work that wall if you just jump up once and come down...you have to bend your legs slightly and push yourself off to get any height, and notice the foxes who tried it just jumped once and came down straight legged. Admittedly they're light and it wouldn't work as well as with a human, but I'll betcha they could have got it to bounce!

Hippie Operative Nikovich Nikita Nicovna Talibani,
Contracted Agent of Veritas Oilspillus, code name “Nike”,
signing off

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Wednesday, July 6, 2011 4:26 AM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

Hippie Operative Nikovich Nikita Nicovna Talibani,
Contracted Agent of Veritas Oilspillus, code name “Nike”,
signing off

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Wednesday, July 6, 2011 7:08 PM

RIONAEIRE

Beir bua agus beannacht

Oh my goodness that is really cute! I like ravens better than crows. Ravens are my special animal/"totum"/representative creature. My dad and I came to this conclusion and then you know what? My little brother Raven came along, I'm not kidding (he's adopted so we didn't choose that name for him, his mom did and it wasn't related to me and my dad's thing about ravens at all. Sometimes all seems right in the world.

When I was a kid we had a trampoleen in my back yard, it was the 90s and so it was the cool thing to do. I spent hours on that thing with my friends, it was our favorite thing to do from age 10 to 12.

"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya

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Thursday, July 7, 2011 5:56 AM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

Hey, Riona, too bad you didn't live closer....we had a "non-rehabitatable" raven for 14 years. She lived in an aviary we built off the kitchen window and spent a lot of time indoors. I adored her and yes, to me there is no comparison between crows and ravens. Ravens are scary smart and wonderfully devious!

Wow, I just noticed, in the third video there are TWO WOMEN standing behind the fence watching the foxes! Where are there foxes who are so bold? I've only seen one in all the years I lived here, on a trail (oh, not counting the semi-domestic one that lived behind the ranger station for years). To see three foxes playing that close to humans, who are watching them even!, is mind blowing.

Hippie Operative Nikovich Nikita Nicovna Talibani,
Contracted Agent of Veritas Oilspillus, code name “Nike”,
signing off

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