© 2009 WHAT DO YOU THINK THEY ARE FEELING? Science has proven that animals have emotions.  I’m sure any critter lover could have confirmed this without spending a dime.  There was a recent article in Science Daily, that explains how an animal’s emotions help them decide what to do in their everyday lives.  Check it out, it’s interesting. I can see the major emotional differences in the red foxes.  The adult male is a very cautious, anxious and skiddish animal.  He doesn’t feel comfortable being seen or communicated with, yet.  This may be attributed to his past environment or experience.  He’s probably the older and wiser of the two. The adult female red fox is the total opposite.  She will nap at the edge of the woods or under the apple tree next to our deck.  If I am out working in the yard, she will come within about 5 feet of me to see what’s going on. She seems very relaxed and comfortable around me, almost trusting.  This is an incredibly amazing experience for me, and she doesn’t mind the camera.   The young fox pups are all over the map, one very curious but cautious, one skiddish and one is just fearless.  What a group these parents have to contend with.  For the most part, they all seem happy.                    On a hot summer day a Fox Squirrel           A Cardinal eating some          is looking for a nice quiet shady spot         seed off the deck rail.                                       to take a little time out.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          really enjoy their new “game.” Fox squirrel relaxing on the deck rail cardinal eating bird seed in the backyard Red Fox playing guard-fox

Emotions help animals to make choices, research suggests
ScienceDaily (2010-08-04) -- A new review of animal emotion suggests that, as in humans, emotions may tell animals about how dangerous or opportunity-laden their world is, and guide the choices that they make. ... > read full article

Female Red Fox observing what I'm doing. Female Red Fox looking in the sun room Female Red Fox wondering what I'm doing Female Red Fox sitting in the backyard SOME VERY HAPPY YOUNG RACCOONS Young raccoons running up the deck steps Young raccoon wants to play with my shoe Young raccoon exploring my shoe Young raccoons playing around my feet The morning starts at 6 am in the yard.  As soon as the two young raccoons see me getting the bird seed / peanut mix ready, they come running up to the deck door.  I can barely get out the door and down the steps without tripping over them.  Talk about happy to see you! They like checking out my shoes while I’m trying to walk to the backyard. These babies must be 3rd or 4th generation raccoons in the yard. It seems that there must be some kind of knowledge passed down from the parents & grandparents as far as who is a “safe” person.  They just seemed to know that I wasn’t any threat to them. The adult female fox acting as a guard fox in the front yard, by the street.  Her idea of guarding is to run away as soon as she sees a car or person in sight. She seems to like being invisible to most of the neighbors. “Yeah, you’re up, food, yippeee” “Nice shoes, can I lick them?” “Hey, get up here & check   out the shoes” “Don’t worry, she never steps   on us, she’s not as good with   the ice, remember that!” “Whatcha doing over there?” “I can see you in there!” “What?”