Fox Tales

Thursday, March 23, 2017 at 8 PM on CBC-TV

Episode available within Canada only. Click on image to play the video.

Fox Tales uncovers new research that penetrates the secrecy of the first hours, days, and weeks of a red fox pup’s life. Rare, never-broadcast before footage captured on motion-sensitive, infrared cameras embedded in wild dens reveals tiny red fox pups nestling into their mother moments after birth but also something startling — baby brutes battling tooth and claw for dominance.

Red fox in the bushesA red fox pup at six weeks.

When our vulnerable pups take their first steps out of their natal den on to the awe-inspiring cliffs of Newfoundland our cameras are there capture them in all their wobbly-legged cuteness.  As the pups grow and develop in this spectacular landscape Fox Tales takes viewers to new locales to learn how red foxes are able to change their behaviour to make a home almost anywhere.

MORE:
An Earth of Foxes

Red foxes are one of the most widespread and adaptable mammals on the planet. In the last century, they have moved into urban areas in Europe, Australia, the USA, Canada and Japan.

I would be very surprised if there were not red foxes in most, if not all North American cities. 
– Wildlife Specialist Dr. David Drake, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Join us as we follow scientists in Madison, Wisconsin and Bristol, England to track the stealthy encroachment of red foxes into cities. And tag along with Dr. James Roth as he studies how red foxes are moving out onto the Arctic tundra and the surprising way they are surviving in this harsh landscape.

MORE:
Behind the Scenes: Filming a Family of Red Foxes
Foxes Create an Oasis For Other Creatures - Including Polar Bears - On the Arctic Tundra
Growing Up Red: the First Six Months in a Fox's Life

Intelligent, resourceful, intrepid — the red fox has made its home from the deepest wilderness into the heart of cities, from the Arctic tundra to the Australian bush. Their drive to expand their empire is matched only by human expansion and they’re moving into new environments at a rate that astounds even the scientists who have spent a lifetime studying them.

They’re a complex species … a fascinating species to study. You think you know it all and then you realize you know very little. 
– Biologist Dr. Stephen Harris, University of Bristol

As Fox Tales reveals red foxes are an impressive species that demands our respect and our attention wherever they are found.

Credits (Click to expand)

Directors
SUSAN FLEMING
RODERICK DEOGRADES

Director of Photography
JOSHUA J. SEE

Cinematography
HUGO KITCHING
KEITH BRUST
ED SENKOWSKI

Sound Recordists
PETER SAWADE
JOSHUA J. SEE
HUGO KITCHING

Production Manager/Business Affairs
ANDREA MINTY

Editor
ROBERT RUZIC
RODERICK DEOGRADES

Writers
SIOBHAN FLANAGAN
SUSAN FLEMING

Original Music
GEOFF BENNETT
ANDRE HIRZ

Research
GRAHAM DUGGAN

VFX/ Graphic Design
CRAIG SCORGIE

Scientific Advisor
Dr. J. David Henry, Biologist
Author The Catlike Canine, How to Spot a Fox.


Producer
SUSAN FLEMING

Editing Assistant
MICHAEL LAING-FRASER

On-line Editor
ARTHUR DITNER

Colourist
LORRAINE GRANT

Additional Colour
JIM FLEMING

Supervising Sound Editor
PAUL GERMANN

Assistant Sound Editor
CHRIS KING

Re-recording Mixers
LOU SOLAKOFSKI

Assistant Sound Mixers
ANDREA RUSCH

Dialogue Editor
KRYSTIN HUNTER

Foley
FOOTSTEPS POST PRODUCTION SOUND

Executive Producer
SUSAN FLEMING

Filmed partially on location with the Parks Canada Agency, in Wapusk National Park of Canada
Fox Den footage provided courtesy of @Staatsbosbeheer The Netherlands
Stock footage provided courtesy of Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism, Kaoru Ryan Suzuki, Pond 5
Still Photographs used with the permission of Don Gutoski, James Roth

Additional Music Tracks provided by Audio Network

Special Thanks to the following for their important contribution to the project:
Doug and Chester Penney
John Vivian, Barbara Doran
Peggy & John Fisher, Kevin Walters
Keith Lamont
Jaap Mulder - Bureau Mulder-natuurlijk
Sam Hobson, Jo Dorning, Sue & Bob Lester, Sue Harris, Pat Prior
Jacqueline Verstege, Churchill Northern Studies Centre
Lynn Gilchrist, Canon Canada

Produced in association with
THE CANADIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION
and
                                                    THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC for WNET

Produced with the participation of
CANADA MEDIA FUND
ROGERS TELEFUND
ROGERS DOCUMETNARY FUND

And with the participation of

THE CANADIAN FILM OR VIDEO PRODUCTION TAX CREDIT
ONTARIO FILM AND TELEVISION TAX CREDITS

Produced by FANTASTIC MRS. FOX Inc. ©2017


FOR PBS “Nature”
Executive Producer: Fred Kaufman
Supervising Producer: Bill Murphy

For CBC:

General Manager, Programming
Sally Catto

Executive Director, Unscripted Content
Jennifer Dettman

Senior Director, Documentary
Sandra Kleinfeld

Executive in Charge of Production
Sue Dando

Wildlife Film Consultant
Caroline Underwood

Director of Production, Unscripted content
Alexandra Lane

Director of Finance, Unscripted content
Julie Lawlor

The Nature of Things with David Suzuki
Produced by
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

cbc.ca/natureofthings

 

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