Blanford's fox, (Vulpes cana) is considered to be one of the rarest canids. We wanted to photograph it catching prey; it is entirely nocturnal, very shy, and lives in very rugged terrain in the middle east (this one is in Israel). The prey had to be alive, or the fox wouldn't take it. We didn't want to use anything like wire, or nylon cord to anchor the prey, as it could harm the fox. So, superglue was employed. The fox photographed itself, tripping an electronic shutter device & 5 strobes.
This particular species of fox weighs about 1KG. It eats invertebrates (mostly insects, scorpions, etc) and, in some regions, a type of wild fruit. For the most part, they do not drink, but get moisture from thier food. I used an beam generator triggering device (similar to those used to open doors automatically). There was a reflector hidden in the rocks behind the fox, and the beam passed over the bait. The fox took it's photo when it broke the beam, just as it was biting the mantis. Believe me, it didn't always work. I got lots of photos of fox tails, feet, etc, more than the images that I wanted.
I was not aware that fox ate insects. Also, I am curious, if it was electronically triggered (I guess by movement), how did you trigger it so precisely (right when its jaw opened), Thanks
This one's a preying mantis. We also used crickets, scorpions, and several beetles. The project went on every night for 6 weeks, trying to photograph all aspects of behavior (even going into a live trap) for an article on the fox and the researcher.
0 
