Cars are pulling off onto and parking along a strip of the grassy shoulder of East Sheridan Avenue, across from the bus barn, to witness a rare occurrence.
Cody residents are accustomed to seeing mule deer walking along city streets or foraging in back yards and in parks. Rabbits are in abundance around town, nibbling on grass, running and dodging cars in the street, but this is something that if people aren’t aware and looking for it, they’ll miss.
A fox and five kits have emerged from their winter den in a grassy space between the asphalt and the bus barn parking lot.
Around dinner time is when people start to gather, as the sun, if there are no clouds, brightly illuminates and warms up the two berms of earth that the mother fox has dug for her fast-growing kits.
Saturday evening, Big Horn Basin Media posted a video on Facebook of the fox and pups.
The foxes emerged almost two weeks ago and are already starting to explore further from their mom, but she always calls them back or physically picks them up in her mouth and moves them closer to the rest of her brood.
People who park alongside East Sheridan stay in their cars, quietly watching, taking pictures and video with their phone, and keep a safe distance from the babies.
“You don’t see this everyday,” Cody resident Joel Swearingen says as he sits in his car as it idles. His grandchildren in the back stare out of the window, counting how many kits they can spot. His grandson counts three, then four. His granddaughter spots one more in the second berm further away from its family.
People on Facebook pointed out what was in the video along with how long the fox was there for. According to people, the fox and the pups had been hanging out for at least a week.
Vixens (female foxes) usually have four to five kits (babies) per pregnancy. Kits are born in what is called a “whelping den,” which is one of several dens the vixen maintains in her range. The vixens will stay with her cubs for the first two weeks, relying on the male to bring her food. After the first two weeks, both parents will hunt and bring back food for the kits. Food is usually regurgitated or torn up until they can feed themselves.
