Silver Fox Spotted in Noblesville, Indiana

Silver Fox Photo by Zefram, Wikimedia Commons

With the recent time change, Jake & I found ourselves heading home from one of my annual fall musical rehearsals in total blackness, making 6:30 feel more like 11:30 to our unadjusted internal clocks.  As we slithered our way through some of Hamilton County's newest round-abouts, the familiar flashes of farmland and neighborhoods with mammoth homes took turns erasing the undone To-Do's from my rigorous day at work.

Eye sheen of a small four-legged figure near the road snatched my attention on 166th Street near the Stonycreek Golf Club in Noblesville, Indiana.  My mind tried to make sense of the solo creature by the side of the road.  This dog-like animal was...definitely not a dog.  "A fox, Jake...do you see the fox?"  By the time the words left my mouth, the fox was far behind us, but not before that white triangular tipped tail seared its image in my mind.  "Wait.  What was that?  I've never seen a tail like that."  I wasn't so sure what I had seen...not until my Google search later that night.

Silver Fox photo by Paul Burwell*

According to Wikipedia, "the silver fox is a melanistic form of red fox."  Silver fox don their coats in a variety of colors, ranging from ash-colored to bluish-grey to entirely black with the exception of the white-tipped tail, and their pelts "were among the most valued furbearers."  

"Melanism is the occurrence of an increased amount of dark pigmentation of skin...or hair in an organism...and [is] the opposite of albinism."  Panthers, squirrels, and even the coral snake are examples of other animals that can display this dominant gene.

*Paul Burwell is an award-winning wildlife photographer; 

I highly suggest visiting his website Paul Burwell Photography 

to marvel at Burwell's talent with his wild subjects.

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