Friending a Fox!

A proper red-collared, see, oh, oh, oh, she got it. Almost over, oh, she got the mark. Listen, listen, gotta watch these foxes. In the past, I have made the attempt to get up close with a red fox. While filming our epic wolverine episode, I worked alongside Steve Kroschel, who owns and operates a renowned wildlife sanctuary that is home to a number of native Alaskan species, including this adorable little canine. Nonetheless, getting a fox to sit still for the cameras is nearly impossible. Hey, Lupin, come on back here. Today, we are on location at the Everglades Outpost. This rehabilitation facility provides medical care and treatment to sick or injured animals, and they currently have a resident red fox named Swiper, who will provide me with a second chance at getting this sly creature up close for the cameras. All right, guys, so we've seen this scenario before, Coyote Peterson getting into an enclosure with a fox. Last time, it didn't go so well. Although the video was adorable, I didn't manage to get real up close and personal with the animal. So today, we're gonna hang out with Swiper. Now, he is a rescue, and from what I'm told, he loves to play. So if you guys are ready, let's enter and see if we can get up close, finally, with the red fox. Hi, Swiper. There you are. All right, guys, come on in. Look at you, up on the platform. Hi, hi, hi, hi, hi, hi, hi, hi. Okay, so far, so good. I just touched noses with the fox. Okay, I'm gonna come over here. I just wanna give Swiper a minute to get acclimated to me being in here and the cameras being in here. All right, come on up here. You wanna come up and play? You wanna hang out? Come on up, come on up. Wow, much, much different than when we tried to work with the baby fox in Alaska. Let's see, can I give you a little head scratch? Oh, there we go. Now, the red fox is the largest of the fox species and one of the most widespread canines in the world. You can find them on almost every continent. Oh, what do you smell? What do I smell, do I smell good? You wanna get inside my vest? Wanna get in there? She's very curious right now. I got a little something up my sleeve, too. There's a guarantee that this episode was gonna go according to plan. Oh, she's trying to eat my hat. Yeah, that's leather, isn't it? Hi, hi, hi, hi, hi, hi, hi, hi. Okay, let's see if we can get a belly rub going here. Oh, yeah, it's nice, huh? Look at how handsome that fox is. Now, the red fox, despite being called the red fox, can come in various different colors. From this beautiful copper red color to even white and almost silver. Oh, she got the mark. Oh, yeah, that's not the first time that's happened. It happened again. This is a very common thing. Animals, for some reason, love the microphone muffs and now Swiper has literally swiped the microphone muff. As you can see, he's got some other little toys in here. You know, Swiper, we're gonna need that back, buddy. We're gonna need that back. It kinda matches your tail. It looks like a little silver fox. No, no, don't eat the rubber. Here, let me just go ahead and take that back from you. He's, listen to that, ee, ee, ee, ee. He's like, that's my toy. Eee, ee, ee, ee, ee, ee, ee, ee, ee, ee, ee, ee, ee, ee, ee. He does. We need another mic. Oh, man. He does not wanna give that microphone fluffy back. Now, I would imagine that he is thinking, okay, maybe it's a squirrel. As we know, red foxes are incredible hunters, ferocious predators. They primarily feast on rodents, but even something the size of a rabbit is fair game. And I have a feeling that microphone muffs aren't exactly high in protein. Go get it, get it. Aren't exactly high in protein, but, ooh, let me get it, let me get it. He really does not wanna give it back. There we go. Look at, let's take a look at the leaping ability. Watch this. Okay, there you go. There it is. Are you gonna just not acknowledge the giant zebra behind you? There is a zebra. Well, yeah, there's also a zebra right there. Now, we are working today at the Everglades Outpost, which is a wildlife sanctuary for rescued and rehabilitating animals. And Swiper is actually one of those animals. Now, Swiper was raised in captivity, but unfortunately, his owner got to the point where he wasn't able to take care of Swiper anymore, and he ended up here. The red fox does not make a good pet. Now, while they are very gregarious, they will oftentimes scent mark all over a house. They love to dig. They love to rip things up. And what you guys can't actually smell through the camera right now is there is a very distinct musky-type odor in this enclosure, almost like the musk of a skunk or a wolverine, even though foxes are not related to mustelids. Marky's coming up next to you there. They do constantly scent mark, and it has a very strong, pungent smell in here. Definitely not something that you would want the inside of your house to smell like. I'd say like a tinge of a skunk. Yeah, it's like a skunk meets a bad fart, maybe a wet boot. It's okay in the moment, but you definitely wouldn't want your bedroom smelling like a red fox. Let's see. Okay, look at this, Mario. Go ahead and point at Swiper's tail here. Look at the tail. Can I look at your tail? I just wanna see your tail. It's so bushy. It's the bushiest tail ever. What I love about the fox is how its tail is almost as fluffy as its body. And in the winter when it gets cold, as they nestle down in their den, they will actually wrap their body in that tail to keep themselves warm. Come here. I know. Let's see. Let me see. Come here. Oh, gosh. Why did you take that microphone off from me? Swiper really didn't wanna give that up. Swiper did not wanna give that up. Let's see. What do you got here? Is that your duck? Swiper, look, it's a duck. Come here. Up. Hey, what are you doing? Swiper. What's that? Is that a foxtrot? Yeah, they make these, they have so many different vocalizations. Squeaks, chirps, little barks. The fox is one of the most vocal of any canine species. She's kinda hanging out behind me, isn't it? Yeah. Okay, what if I turn like this and you come right here? Let's see. Let me see. Well, I will say this much, I am having a much better experience and a much closer relationship with this fox than we were with the baby fox in Alaska. Here she comes, looping. She's very excited to have us in here. Come here. Come here, you. Oh yeah, get my arm. Get it. He's really trying to get my hat. There we go. Get the arm bite going. Just playful bites. Oh, there we go. Let me get you the belly up there. Arr. Wow. Let's see. You want to come inside my vest? What's in there, huh? What is it? You want to get onto my back? Can the back rub? This actually feels great. This is a back scratch from a red fox, and it's probably valuable to note that foxes are incredible diggers. They will oftentimes dig burrows to live in. They can also dig little mice or voles out from the ground. And if it lives in your house, it will definitely dig holes in your couch, which again is another reason that the red fox does not make a good pet. The red fox is an extremely elusive animal. Oftentimes you'll find them in residential areas. They come out and primarily search for hunting or foraging for food at night. Every once in a while, you're lucky enough to see a fox. I've only seen a handful of them my entire life. Look at you. I know, you're so cute. So cute. There we go. Trying to bite at my watch. Very sharp claws, perfect for digging. Little black paws, perfect for walking over the top of snow. And unlike wolves and coyotes, they do not have a pack mentality. You'll often notice that foxes are completely solitary. The only time that you will see foxes together is actually during breeding season or if it's a mother taking care of kits. Those are happy sounds, right? Those are happy sounds. Yeah, she's just playing. You see those little bites there? Just playful bites. Okay. I gotcha. Well, how cool is this? I finally managed to get up close with the red fox. I'm Coyote Peterson. Be brave. Whoa. Stay wild. We'll see you on the next adventure. All right, Swiper. We'll see you later, buddy. The red fox is a seldomly seen predator that does its best to avoid human interaction. If you get the chance to see one in the wild, your encounter will likely be nothing more than a fleeting moment. So consider deciding something special because getting up close with a fox is much more difficult than you may think. Tell you what, guys, nothing brings in the red fox like a little bit of pocket bacon. You cheater. Leftovers from breakfast works every time. If you thought Swiper was adorable, make sure to go back and watch my first attempt to work alongside a red fox where things didn't exactly go according to plan. And don't forget, subscribe so you can join me and the crew on our next location. Yep, it worked.