When the weather turns cold, you might expect to see one fox around the house but not a mother and FIVE of her pups.
These amazing images were captured in the back garden of a house in Walkinstown, Dublin 12, this week.
They show the vixen and her skulk, the name for a group of pups, in broad daylight at the rear of the home of local resident Marc Gallagher.
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Mr Gallagher, a lecturer at the Dublin Institute of Technology, said he got a real buzz seeing the furry little family foraging around his back yard.
He said: “It was the most incredible sight. Suddenly out of nowhere the vixen appeared and then suddenly four of her little pups.
“Even in the city, we see the odd fox here or there at night-time but they’ll shy away from you.
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“But this vixen and her pups were quite happy to come out during the day, as if they were cats playing in the garden.”
Wildlife Management of Ireland said it's becoming less and less unusual to see foxes in the city - even in broad daylight - as the canines become more used to being around people.
A spokesman said: "Urban foxes are the very same as wild rural foxes but they have habituated to the hustle and bustle of city life getting more and more used to humans.
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"Urban foxes are mostly active at night and early morning but are increasingly becoming more active throughout the day.
"Urban foxes are natural scavengers and their cunning nature makes them extremely adaptable to city life often living off food scavenged out of bins and rubbish bags."
