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Photos: Foxes prowl Israel’s ancient port of Ashkelon during lockdown
Red foxes are usually a rare sight in busy urban space but they have been making appearances in the Israeli city of Ashkelon, drawn out to an urban sprawl that nowadays matches the seclusion of the desert dunes. Restrictions due to the coronavirus lockdown have kept people off the streets, making the city an open playground for these usually solitary animals
Updated on: Apr 26, 2020 11:27 AM IST
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A red fox stands on an empty skate park in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, where predatory animals now roam amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) disease restrictions that have closed beaches and emptied sidewalks. (Amir Cohen / REUTERS)
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Red foxes are seen near the seashore. In Ashkelon, an ancient Mediterranean seaport and now one of Israel’s main southern cities, a family of foxes has become a regular sighting. (Amir Cohen / REUTERS)
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A red fox walks in an empty park in Ashkelon. (Amir Cohen / REUTERS)
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A red fox checks a pizza box on a promenade in Ashkelon. The fixes have been spotted nosing through discarded food, and playing sometimes unfriendly hide-and-seek with dogs in a local park. (Amir Cohen / REUTERS)
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A dog chases a red fox around an empty skate park. (Amir Cohen / REUTERS)
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Nomadic in nature, the red fox usually keeps to itself, shifting between homes while searching for rodents, birds or carrion. Even when it does form social groups, they remain loose-knit and consist of few members. (Amir Cohen / REUTERS)
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A red fox looks at a cat in Ashkelon. (Amir Cohen / REUTERS)
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A red fox stands in an empty park. The animals, usually a rare sight in busy urban areas, also have a biblical resonance. In the Book of Lamentations, the Jewish temple site in Jerusalem is described as so desolate that “foxes prowl upon it.” (Amir Cohen / REUTERS)
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