Hi, thanks so much

I hope you have a good Autumn and Winter! I guess Orion as seen from the UK seems the wrong way up to folks south of the Equator but you do of course get the glorious Southern Cross and the Megellanic Clouds I would like to see Canopus and Alpha Centuri one day - they never come above the horizon up here!

@Hanvord - thanks very much

@Gubitvn, wow, thanks, that's very kind of you There's lots of treasures in the Opera community so keep looking around at all the great blogs by other folk here

Very nice avatar! Orion's getting a bit close to the western horizon for me now but I always look forward to the next winter to see him again!

Thankyou very much!

Cheers Valentina

Hi Anne, thanks for your comment

Sounds like you had a nice sighting! You're right, it is a privilege to see wild animals and I guess photos are a bit of an extra. By the way, I bought my main camera lens in Toronto in 2005.

I hope the Ontario winter isn't being too harsh right now!

Hi Marie, thanks for your kind words

Not sure that man was right though; I don't think foxes and dogs could produce a fertile hybrid. Red foxes have 34 chromosomes and dogs have 78, so it wouldn't really work. Wolves, jackals, dogs and coyotes can all be crossbred as they're much more closely related.

Hi, thanks for your comment. I appreciate your concern for both your animals and the wildlife.

Forgive me but are you certain these are foxes? The colour and behaviour description better fit some kind of dog / dingo cross. Foxes do not hunt in packs and are unlikely to win a fight with any dog larger than a chihuahua. They weigh 6-13 lb, about the same as a tomcat. If you can get a photo you can send it to me at administrator @ thesittingfox.co.uk .

Whatever they are, a hose is a good deterrent and fight breaker and if there's a particular area you wish to keep them away from, I'd recommend an electric fence. But wildlife tends to come only where something attracts it. Again, if these are larger canids, they're probably there because of the dog. Foxes tend to hang around food sources such as litter or abandoned pet food, and also near water. If you can find out what's attracting them and remove it, if possible, it's probably the simplest way to proceed.

You may like to email the British fox project on fox@foxproject.org.uk (I'm not afflicated with them, but they have a lot of experience in providing humane solutions in fox vs chickens situations).

Cheers - please note that my email address doesn't have spaces in it (I wrote it like that to stop it being harvested by the spambots )

You may be interested to look at some of the sonic deterrents for canids on the market. I don't know if CJ Birdfoods ship to Australia but it may be worth asking. Do you have water troughs further away from your house that they would be able to utilise instead? Obviously if they have become dependent on the troughs for their survival, given your current weather issues, then this may not be a suitable approach.

Their apparent boldness is probably due to experience - foxes have a "flight distance" outside of which they feel comfortable in their ability to outrun people. A fox that rarely sees people errs on the side of caution whereas one familiar with us knows we're quite slow. This is actually quite natural; in natural ecosystems they sit and calmly watch wolves from a safe distance, hankering after scraps from caribou carcasses etc. One of my foxes tolerates our Leonberger (a giant breed the size of a St Bernard) within a few metres, because he has learnt that she says the right side of the fence.

Perhaps the drought is making hunting difficult, and they are approaching dog kennels after smelling dogfood? I hope the rain comes soon. Good luck

Thankyou Stardancer!

Thankyou Henry and Jari!

Thankyou Keilarina!

Thanks very much! The fox and scenery come from the UK and the grizzly bear is from Alberta

Oh! Thankyou!

Merry Christmas to you too!

Hi James, great to hear from you! Thanks very much for showing us all those grizzlies - it was a truly amazing experience, one of the best wildlife watching adventures I've had

Hope all is well and the winter hasn't been too rough, though I've heard stories of heavy snow in the western side of the island

Hi Arnaud, thankyou very much for your nice compliment!

Thanks very much!

Merely word play on "pussy"! It has no meaning. Sorry to have sent you on a wild goose chase

Thankyou for your kind words!

Hi Matt, thanks very much for your kind comments and for visiting here!

The cat is a sweetie. She's 18 years old and considers herself the owner of the upstairs of the course, of course!

Thankyou very much!

Hi, thanks!

Hi, thanks for the link and good luck with your forum