Foxes and Fixes

​Well before sunrise this morning, I headed up the Poudre Canyon–coffee in hand—to adventure in one of my favorite places in Colorado: State Forest State Park. Known as the moose capital of the state, it consists of 70,932 acres of forest, jagged peaks, and alpine lakes, plus wildlife and 136 miles of trails. I’ve camped in all three campgrounds many times, and I’ve done countless day trips there for hiking, fishing and wildlife photography.

​On the way there this morning, near Cameron Pass, I spotted what I thought was a black dog in a trailhead parking log. No one was nearby, so I quickly pulled into the lot, thinking maybe the dog had gotten away from its owner who might be hiking nearby, and I was worried about it being dangerously close to Colorado Highway 14, the road I was on.

​But even though the sun wasn’t up yet and it was still pretty dang dark outside, I quickly realized it wasn’t a dog at all. It was a Silver Fox! Well, that’s what they’re commonly called, and they’re actually closer to black in color. And interestingly, species-wise, these are in fact Red Foxes, specifically,  "melanistic Red Foxes." They’re a rare genetic variation of the Red Fox, with dark or black fur. This genetic mutation causes the fox to produce more melanin, the pigment that gives color to skin, hair and fur.

​Naturally, I quickly grabbed my telephoto lens and was able to snap a few pics before it ran off into the woods (once home, the wonders of Photoshop helped me lift the images out of the dark). 

Who needs coffee when there’s a Silver Fox nearby to crank up the adrenaline?! Man, what a beautiful animal.