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HERE
the link to the live webcams
Watch
the compilation videos from 2011 HERE
2012
This year
the live webcams will be in operation again, as soon as something is
happening around the artificial earth. Here I will try to regularly inform
you about the situation.
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2011
24 april 2011 ---
Cubs start exploring
During the last three weeks we have seen the cubs getting bigger and more
mobile. Despite the blurred view it sometimes was a comical sight to watch
them climb their mother, roll over and putting their feet up into the air.
Everything accompanied by much vocal action. Since a couple of days the
characteristic three-syllabe-fox-bark can be heard from them, although still
in a premature state. The cubs have started to explore the den now, and the
moment of a first glimpse of daylight in the den entrance does not seem far
away. At the moment we think that there are four cubs, but there may
be a surprise in store once they come out and start playing outside. At the
moment they still hardly look as a fox should look, their colour is a dull
brownish grey as in these pictures of a cub of about three-and-a-half-weeks
of age.
The den is sometimes visited by a ‘strange’ female. This may be a
second female in the same territory. In the first week of april she seemed
pregnant as well, and she might have a litter in another den now. If there
are two mothers in one territory they often bring their cubs together,
nursing them both, irrespective of which cub belongs to which mother. So, may
be we will witness the joining of two litters of cubs within a few weeks from
now at this den. That would be a nice surprise!
1 april 2011 23:00 --- Cubs are born!
After a day and night of restlessness, the female has finally given birth to
cubs. Luckily she had settled right in front of a camera, after our fears
that she would have her litter in another earth or at least away from a
camera. Unfortunately however, she choose the camera with the spider web.
Just in time the technicians had managed to bring the sound into the picture,
which added a whole new side to the experience. Now we could witness the
birth of the litter not only by (vague) pictures, but also by the moaning of
the female and the squeaks of the cubs.
The first cub was born today at 09:42 a.m., and was followed by at
least 3 more cubs, but probably there have been born still more. The day
before the birth the female dug a rather deep hollow, with the result that
the camera now is aimed a little too high. Up till now glimpses of cubs may
only be seen when the female turns and cubs are lifted by her movements.
Their nice sounds make up for the lack of sight, however.
 Fox
cubs do not look like foxes at all. Rather they resemble moles with a long
tail. They are dark grey brown in color and weigh about 100 grams. They open
their eyes at about 10-12 days of age. After about three weeks they stumble
for the first time outside the den.
We will see what happens next. What will be the role of the male, which was
tolerated in the vicinity of the female until the last moments before birth.
What proportion of time will the female spend with her cubs? Etcetera etcetera.
All that can be witnessed by everybody.
Here
a short compilation of interesting pictures from last week.
24 March 2011 ---
Uncertainty...
What is going on with the female fox? Like any other foxwebcam-watcher I
have to do with the live pictures, the high quality stored pictures are
available to me only after some time. Limited time and interrupted streams
(the technicians are working hard to overcome the problems) left me with only
a few glimpses. However, from two of these short glimpses I gathered that the
female may not have left the den, as I supposed before, but that she might
have found a private sleeping place inside the artificial burrow! End of ‘big
brother’!
Twice I saw the female disappear within the burrow. One morning she left
the ‘spider-room’ but never appeared outside or in the other room. On
another day she entered the den through the left entrance, but did not appear
in front of an inside camera. The concrete pipes do not offer a cosy sleeping
place, they are only 25 cm high and 19 cm wide. However, the two three-forks
are roomy enough to accommodate a curled up fox. They were made by putting
the wide ends of the three connecting pipes together (see ground
plan). A lesson for next year. So the foxes keep surprising us, what
comes next?
19 maart 2011 ---
Where is she?
There are technical problems with the webcams. In fact
the capacity of the cable, connecting the SBB-office to the internet, is too
small, causing 'traffic jams'. Sometimes there are live pictures, sometimes
there are none for hours on end. It is a pity, and it is doubtful whether the
problem will be solved shortly. Luckily the pictures are stored (in a rather
good quality) in the office. Every week a short compilation movie will be
produced.
The first, with pictures from
February and March, can now be watched here.
Despite the obstruction of our view from time to time, it has become clear
that the female fox has abandoned the burrow. We have not seen here on camera
since last Thursday. The lonely fox that sleeps in the artificial earth is
invariably the male now. The chance that the female will produce her
offspring in front of a camera, now seems to be small. It is a development I
had been reckoning with, because pregnant females don't like to share a
burrow with the male anymore, shortly before birth. Unfortunately she has not
chosen for the small other artificial den we provided in the direct vicinity.
Providing a new den does of course not lead to the establishment of a new
pair of foxes in the area; these foxes already lived there and had their
burrows and other favourite sleeping places already. Apparently the female
now has returned to one of her natural dens. The pairbond will not be
jeopardized, however, the foxes will meet from time to time while active in
the field and also communicate with their scent marking. Probably the female
will return to the artificial burrow, with her cubs, when the cubs are about
three weeks old. According to my prediction of the date of birth, this should
be around the 25th of April. We will have to be patient…
A short movie about a (radio-collared) female around the birth of her
litter can be watched here.
17 March 2011 ---
Rather boring
Watching the live pictures of the red fox webcams is currently rather
boring. The foxes sometimes come, and go, clean their fur for a little
while, and sleep, sleep, sleep. The most thrilling moments are when a fox
enters a chamber, looks into the camera or even sniffs it, scrapes the ground,
lies down after some turning, and starts grooming before falling asleep. When
leaving they stretch nicely. Especially the female will be sleeping even
longer in the next weeks, preceding the birth of a litter. Coming and going
may take place at every moment of the day and night; these foxes do not
exhibit a clear nightly activity pattern.
Up till now the most used chamber was number 1, upper left picture.
Unfortunately a small spider has made its web right in front of the camera
lens, blurring our view. There is no cure for that problem without disturbing
the foxes, alas. We can only hope that the female will choose one of the
other chambers to have her cubs. There is also a chance that she will choose
a natural den for the birth of here cubs and the first few weeks thereafter.
I am however confident that she will return with her cubs to the large den in
that case.
4 March 2011 ---
Background of the red fox webcams
For years I had visions of fox dens with camera's in it, to reveal the
secret life of foxes below ground. And now, all of a sudden, Staatsbosbeheer
('Dutch Forestry Commission') made the idea into a fact : an artificial fox
den with camera's inside and outside.
In the hart of The Netherland's greatest nature reserve, the
Oostvaardersplassen, an artificial fox den was built last winter. The
Oostvaardersplassen are renowned for their hands off nature management and
harbours large populations of red deer, konik horses and Heck cattle. Vast
numbers of greylag geese breed in the area, as well as other reed loving
birds. Large colonies of spoonbill, great white egrets and cormorants are
found in the wetter parts of the reserve. Since 2005 the sea eagle has been
successfully breeding here, a first for the Netherlands. In autumn and winter
tens of thousands of geese and other waterfowl live in the reserve.
Read more about the Oostvaardersplassen here.
The reserve also harbours a population of red foxes. They live a
completely natural life here, there is no influence of man whatsoever, except for the
providing of carcasses of large herbivores: Dutch politicians do not want the
public to see dying ungulates in late winter, so the managers have to shoot
the weak animals before they die from natural causes. Their carcasses should have
become available for foxes (and ravens and sea eagles etcetera) anyway. The
foxes mainly live from scavenging in winter and eating geese and their young
in the rest of the year. You can often see them in broad daylight, for
instance from the observation hills around the reserve. In the absence of man
they apparently have regained a natural activity pattern instead of being
only active by night.
Last December Staatsbosbeheer built an artificial fox den in a wet part of
the reserve, expecting that foxes would accept it quickly, because of the
scarcity of other suitable den sites. The den was constructed from elements
of concrete, chambers and pipes, with a ground plan based on what is known in
the literature and my own experience of natural fox dens (pictures).
In fact two dens where build, about 30 m apart. Foxes with cubs like
to live in larger dens with at least two chambers, and with at least two
tunnels to each of the chambers. The tunnels leading to the chambers are
usually at least eight meters long. However, for giving birth the females
generally dig small dens with only one chamber and a four or five meter long
curved tunnel. So we provided both options (see groundmap),
in the hope of being able to follow the whole process of reproduction:
preparation, giving birth and growing up of the cubs.
Around the change of the year the construction of the dens was completed.
Hardly four weeks later the larger den of the two was already occupied by a
pair of foxes! The four cameras are working continuously, as long as the
batteries are charged enough by the solar panels and the small wind mill. The
video signals are sent wireless to the office, about 3,5 km away, and linked
to the internet. As soon as a camera detects movement, the signal is recorded,
including the two preceding seconds, so records are available to study the
events and fox behaviour later.
A short, introductory movie to be seen here.
From what has been recorded so far, we conclude that mating must have
taken place around the 9th of February, implying a possible birth date
between 2 and 5 April. But it may be days earlier or later, I don't bet on it!
You will be warned by the changes in the female, especially as observed with
the inside cameras ('binnen'). Her abdomen will extend gradually with time,
of course, and shortly before birth her belly will loose its hair, getting
almost naked, and four pairs of small 'breasts' will develop.
For the differences between this male and female see here.
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