The Next Generation

San Joaquin Kit Fox family

They are tiny, still gray, and seeing the world for the first time. This family of kit foxes had six pups, and I was lucky enough to get a series of shots of them outside the entrance of their den. This after many false starts, empty frames, and lousy weather. Now I know why there are so few pictures in existence of these rare animals – found only in south-central California.

One challenge with camera traps is that you have no guarantee – or control – over the composition. Triggered by invisible motion sensors, the camera just takes a picture of whatever happens to be in front of it. (The rear-end shot I posted last week is MUCH more typical than this) It is essentially a numbers game: be prepared to shoot a lot of images to get a handful that work. After two weeks work, that’s about what I got – a handful. But I learned a lot about the animals, their behavior and camera techniques that work, and don’t… I hope to be back in the field again with them next month.