There are animals we rarely see among us. When we catch a glimpse, we are absolutely spellbound. We cannot believe they exist, but they do, secretively on the edges of our land and in our minds.

Two weeks ago, a friend told me about a family of red foxes, four pups and their mother, near the Iowa State University campus. Immediately the next morning I got my camera equipment and went searching. Of course, I didn’t expect to see the foxes; they are elusive, shy, and skittish creatures. It was a beautiful Iowa day, limitless in possibility.

Suddenly, they were there, two pups at play, nipping and biting at each other’s tails, lost in play. I sucked in my breath, remaining bone still. I clicked off a few frames and then they ran to their mother and back into the den, dug deep into the side of a creek.

I returned the next day. One lone fox pup sat on the opposite side of the creek. I approached low and with eyes cast downward. My clothing was drab; I talked softly to the young fox. “Nice to see you. I just want a few pictures if you don’t mind.” I came close and took a series pictures of him sniffing, yawning, and licking. He then lay on the ground, pretending to take a nap, and I crept closer. Surprisingly, he seemed unbothered by my presence and I switched to macro mode. I then shot a series of 70 photographs from close range. He stretched, played, and posed for the next twenty minutes. I kept waiting for the moment to evaporate; I relished each second of being so close to a rarely seen wild animal.

This photograph shows the fox pup in incredible detail, from his amazing orange-red fur to his black-and-white whiskers. We rarely get to experience the beauty of foxes, but they are in the Iowa landscape, even inside our city limits, largely unnoticed and underappreciated.