Noises in the night
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I was woken from a deep sleep in the wee, small hours. A fox was screaming her unearthly cry and uttering other inhuman, guttural sounds.
Foxes can call at any time of year, but in the December and January of winter in the UK, it is an indication that mating is being invited or enacted. Although dog foxes can call, it is usually the vixen that creates the eery cacophony, advertising that she is ready to mate, and seeking a partner.
Mating can take twenty minutes, and, like dogs, the foxes remain tied until Mother Nature decrees that they can decouple.
The following explains the copulatory tie better than I can:
A breeding tie occurs when the gland at the end of the male’s penis swells up and is gripped by the contracting muscles of the female’s vagina, preventing the two from being separated. A tie is often seen as a sign of a successful mating and is common among dogs, wolves, and foxes.
It essentially locks the male and female together after ejaculation, maximising the chances of successful fertilisation by keeping the semen inside the female for a longer period of time.
People used to throw buckets of water over copulating dogs in the street, which was a cruel and unnecessary reaction, borne of ignorance, or possibly embarrassment if children were likely to witness the sight. With fewer stray dogs, it is rarely seen now.
In addition to screaming, foxes can bark or mutter or sob, and their song can make the blood run cold.
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Having been around dogs mating as a child and seen adults scampering for the hose to drench, I have always felt it was done out of embarrassment over kids being present.
ReplyDeleteI see foxes around here rarely, just one sighting sometime last year, but I certainly hear the cats yowling during the night when mating season comes. Lately, it's been much less often and most cats are neutered or spayed.
ReplyDeleteI like to hear the foxes.
ReplyDelete