3days ago I was shooting photos in Thetford forest. I had parked up and started walking along one of the tracks. I noticed a side track, turned my head to the right to look down it, and there was a HUGE great animal trotting toward me, which if it was a fox was very unusual.It was a deep chocolate brown colour with BLACK edges not a single trace of white on it. AND it was big, as big as a sturdy Alsatian dog. Has any one else seen anything like it?
did I see an unusual fox??
- Thread starter mr dazzler
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What made you think it was a fox and not someone's dog?
Since you had your camera did you not take a picture?
What happened when you saw each other? Did it carry on non-plussed? Make a run for it? What did you do?
Since you had your camera did you not take a picture?
What happened when you saw each other? Did it carry on non-plussed? Make a run for it? What did you do?
I've never known dogs to be running about in the woods with no owner, or to be totally silent and run in the opposite direction either. It just scarpered into the bracken which is around 4 to 5 foot high. I saw it for around 1 second, and was intending to shoot pine trees in a particular spot so was not prepared for a sudden wild life shot. My 1st thought was "deer" (colours) but the form (tails shape, snout etc) was definitely fox. Anyway I just carried on and shot some panoramic views and scenes.
It may have well been someone’s dog, its quite common for people to loose their pets, especially holiday makers, having been raised in a city. For a dog, the woodland there is a smorgasbord of smells and off they, go inner wolf released. I worked for ‘Breaks’ the local council monitoring and maintaining the foot paths in the forest in the 90’s.
Yes, absent an actual picture of the animal and judging by your description, I'd say it was someone's dog.
Although foxes are a different species to dogs (they're vulpines, not canines) they nevertheless look similar, especially to some breeds of dog.
When out for a walk I often encounter people's dogs who have gone for a wild run once off the lead. Invariably you often encounter the owner a short while later calling for the animal.
To be honest, there's not much else it could be.
Have you checked to see if there have been reports of strange animal sightings in the area? Although all large forests are going to be prone to spurious wild animal reports, so it maybe best to take them with a heavy dose of salt.
Although foxes are a different species to dogs (they're vulpines, not canines) they nevertheless look similar, especially to some breeds of dog.
When out for a walk I often encounter people's dogs who have gone for a wild run once off the lead. Invariably you often encounter the owner a short while later calling for the animal.
To be honest, there's not much else it could be.
Have you checked to see if there have been reports of strange animal sightings in the area? Although all large forests are going to be prone to spurious wild animal reports, so it maybe best to take them with a heavy dose of salt.
I saw a large black dog in the woods when I was out shooting about 20 years ago. No owner around and in a private woods where people don't go to walk dogs. I was tucked up under a fallen tree and it padded along an animal trail not far away without apparently seeing or smelling me. It was probably just a dog but you can't ignore the legends.
https://www.ancient-origins.net/myt...-terrifying-black-dogs-british-legends-007245
https://www.ancient-origins.net/myt...-terrifying-black-dogs-british-legends-007245
Driving home one night the road curves slightly and goes downhill to the bridge across the river. An enormous fox jumped out from the left and crossed right in front of me. I thought it was an alsation at first, a big alsation, until I caught a glimpse of the tail as it disappeared into the undergrowth.
The bridge is right next to an enormous waterway system and country park, rich in wildfowl, etc., They eat very well indeed all year round.
The Rangers said that the park foxes are huge, and often different colours too. There's one that wanders through my garden that is almost as blond as an alsation, and another that rambles down the other side of the street that is so dark that it's often mistaken for a dog on the loose. The only thing that gives it away is the shape of the tail.
It's a very dark red brown, and at dark o'clock you can't see the any real colour variation.
Apparently it's normal for foxes to have a range of colours.
https://www.wildlifeonline.me.uk/animals/article/red-fox-coat-colour
The bridge is right next to an enormous waterway system and country park, rich in wildfowl, etc., They eat very well indeed all year round.
The Rangers said that the park foxes are huge, and often different colours too. There's one that wanders through my garden that is almost as blond as an alsation, and another that rambles down the other side of the street that is so dark that it's often mistaken for a dog on the loose. The only thing that gives it away is the shape of the tail.
It's a very dark red brown, and at dark o'clock you can't see the any real colour variation.
Apparently it's normal for foxes to have a range of colours.
https://www.wildlifeonline.me.uk/animals/article/red-fox-coat-colour
Precisely.I cant think of any dog that has a bushy brush tail like a fox. And the snout was fox shaped too. And it was as silent as a ghost, no panting or sniffing.
About 8 years ago I saw another huge fox, it ran (more like sauntered briskly) across the road as I was driving near Diss. Colourwise it resembled like an African lion, sandy with black tinges. And looked just as gnarly mean and beat up
Probaly around 1967 or 68 I was visiting my friend on a farmin east yorkshire. His dad led a shooting party on the Saturday, and they showed us the 2 foxes they shot when they returned home. I still remember now looking at the larger one it was huge laid out on the back of his land rover,but then anything most likely seems huge when you are 7
In my early teens I had a shoot at a local stables. Early one morning this fox burst out of a hedge row and the across the field.
It was the size of an alsation no question. Normal fox coloured with a normal fox tail but bloody enormous
I started fox shooting a few years after that and to this day I've not seen one as big
It was the size of an alsation no question. Normal fox coloured with a normal fox tail but bloody enormous
I started fox shooting a few years after that and to this day I've not seen one as big
No, they're different species. Canis and Vulpes, and they have different chromosome counts. Different numbers of those mean they can't breed.
Not sure if I remember the numbers correctly but the dog has something like 78 and the fox about half that. Their species' diverged from a common ancestor a very long time ago.
Not sure if I remember the numbers correctly but the dog has something like 78 and the fox about half that. Their species' diverged from a common ancestor a very long time ago.
Sounds like a Melanistic fox. Rare things. Basically a red fox with different pigmentation. Opposite of albino really. The size you describe it as though maybe rules it out.
I
It would appear extremely, unlikely but remotely possible http://www.macroevolution.net/dog-fox-hybrids.html
A summary of this (https://www.wildlifeonline.me.uk/animals/article/red-fox-size) page would be...
While there are records of some very big foxes, they all fall short of Alsatian size, except for overall length, where a fox's relatively longer tail adds more to the measurement. Height and weight are a significant way off. Alsatians are typically 60cm +(2foot) tall at the shoulder and weigh 23+kg...foxes seem to average 40cm, with a monster being maybe 50cm and weighing a couple kg under 20kg, at the top end.
I liked this picture. Even has a bushy tail with white tip and dark sock, but it isn't a fox
Quite possible you did see a really big fox. Certainly sounds like they are out there, but for it to have been as big as you say, really, does suggest that it was a foxy looking dog. A Springer Spaniel size fox would still look huge by comparison with the normal run of the mill.
While there are records of some very big foxes, they all fall short of Alsatian size, except for overall length, where a fox's relatively longer tail adds more to the measurement. Height and weight are a significant way off. Alsatians are typically 60cm +(2foot) tall at the shoulder and weigh 23+kg...foxes seem to average 40cm, with a monster being maybe 50cm and weighing a couple kg under 20kg, at the top end.
I liked this picture. Even has a bushy tail with white tip and dark sock, but it isn't a fox
Quite possible you did see a really big fox. Certainly sounds like they are out there, but for it to have been as big as you say, really, does suggest that it was a foxy looking dog. A Springer Spaniel size fox would still look huge by comparison with the normal run of the mill.
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