PBS Fox Tales Review

Who here likes foxes?  I saw a documentary on PBS called, Nature Fox Tales.  It is a documentary on foxes (mostly red foxes).  



My review:

Yeah, I have been into foxes lately and definitely couldn't resist watching the program on PBS when it aired.  Foxes are cute and there are alot of things I don't know about foxes (after all they are pretty elusive creatures and it is not every day you see foxes in the wild).  In the show, a camera crew filmed a family of foxes in Nova Scotia, with a vixen fox leading her cubs.  They talk about red foxes from when they are kits (baby foxes) up till they are adults.  They also talk about global warming and how arctic foxes are at risk as a result, especially with some red foxes moving into the arctic and preying on some of the arctic foxes (which does seem to be a growing trend over the years).  They also talk about some families in London that offer food for foxes to come into their yard and watch the foxes on web cam (reminds me a bit of the Fox Family cam on the Simon king wildlife website, though that is a different family in many ways, despite some obvious differences in the show).  I am not sure if we get foxes in my own back yard here in Snohomish, but we do get coyotes coming through sometimes (you are definitely more likely to encounter coyotes in the wild here in Washington than red foxes, unless if you know where to look for foxes, like on San Juan Island or in the Paradise area at Mount Rainer National park).

I liked this scene from the show where some curious and naughty arctic foxes come up to the camera and start chewing on it:


  Things I liked about Fox Tales
- It is not every day you see documentaries on foxes.  I've seen documentaries on other animals, but ones on foxes don't happen every day (though I did see the one on Fox Wars many years back)
- The show offers pretty good insights on red foxes along with arctic foxes too.  I like how they are able to film the inside of some of the fox dens.
- Lots of perspective.  I thought that the narrator was great as well as the people they interviewed
- I liked some of the other wildlife they show too, such as the whales in one scene.
- There are some funny moments too, such as a scene (see video above) where some arctic foxes get curious about the cameras and get into some mischief too as well as another scene where a dog chases after one of the foxes and the fox is able to outfox the dog and get away safely.

Negative aspects about the show:
- Does have some sad moments and can be somewhat intense for some viewers, especially children (like a scene where one of the fox kits gets killed off screen apparently during a storm and the vixen fox cannibalizing her dead fox kit) or a scene showing a red fox killing an arctic fox.  Foxes can look cute and cuddly, but they are wild animals, and can definitely be vicious at times too (being carnivores and all), even around siblings too (considering that some kits die during fights for dominance).
- They only focus on foxes in a few areas.  Kinda wish they could explore foxes in the Pacific Northwest for example, though they do film some in Alaska.
- Show is kinda short, but it it is relatively cheap too.

Have you seen the episode yet?  You might be able to see it on Xfinity on Demand.  Alternatively, you can buy a copy of the show on Amazon below:

Other content on Amazon you might like on Animals:



Comments