Barking fox???

I think I just figured it out; My wife just spotted it running with its' mate. I'm guessing it's close to breeding time & it was communicating with the mate when it barks.
 
I saw this one evening hunting red fox on open snowy grain fields. One evening about dark I positioned myself on a fence a fox was coming up towards the road. He would go ten ft closer, stop and bark, then move ten closer, just pauseing enough to bark, he did this 5-6 times before I took him. I figured it was mating season and he was starting out for the night to look for her.T.20
 
the one grey that I shot would come to the call, go into thick stuff and bark. Then would come out, circle me, go back into the swamp and bark. this happened for about 10 minutes. it wasn't close to breeding season.
 
It's breeding season. They can get quite vocal at times. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-006.gif

Quote:
The annual estrous period of female red foxes last from 1 to 6 days. Ovulation is spontaneous and does not require copulation to occur. The exact time of estrous and breeding varies across the broad geographic range of the species: December-January in the south, January-February in the central regions, and February-April in the north. Males will fight during the breeding season. Males have a cycle of fecundity, with full spermatogenesis only occurring from November to March. Females may mate with a number of males but will establish a partnership with only one male. Copulation usually lasts 15 or 20 minutes and is often accompanied by a vocal clamor.

 
Had a grey bark at a set I was on in florida a couple of years ago, and I don't believe it had anything to do with breeding season. I was set up on a corner of a new clearcut, with palmettos at my back and two fallen trees in front of me. I set my fanny pack on the tree with my Contender on top of that to have it ready. After several minutes of calling, a grey came from upwind at the roots of the trees, and ran down the trees to my gun. He barked once and went to the other end of the tree where he barked again, then back to the gun, barked, then to the roots and barked. This went on about three times until he came back to my gun and decided he would mark it for his territory so I scarred him off. Cleaning fox pee off a Contender and scope is not an easy task. On the upside, I had fresh cover scent the rest of the day. All this went on about two feet in front of my face, but I just don't think it had to do with looking for a mate, but I could be wrong.
 
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