Red Fox vs. Rabbit (A happy ending for the rabbit)

As I posted the other day, the fox family has returned to the den in my backyard. There has been a lot of activity and a lot of hunting going on. The other evening, I was photographing this adorable bunny just a few feet away from me.

I was thinking to myself that this bunny really isn't safe to be in my yard these days. Something made me look to my left and there was Mama Fox entering the yard. She saw the bunny immediately.

 She got down into the stalking position and slowly headed across the yard towards the bunny.My heart started pounding and my hands were shaking so badly that some of the images I took came out blurry from camera shake.  It was happening fast, and I didn't know what to do. Should I scream to alert the bunny? That would have really made Mama mad at me. She knew I was there because she could hear my shutter clicking, yet she never took her eyes off the rabbit.

I decided I needed to let nature take it's course, and just hope for the best. Mama got within a few feet of both myself and the rabbit, and they both took off into my neighbors yard. Within less than a minute, Mama returned empty handed. I was relieved that the rabbit got away. 

It was such a surreal thing for me to witness. I can't believe some of the things I have seen this summer in my own backyard.

Just to let you know, I stopped shooting as the fox got closer to the rabbit. If the fox was successful with the hunt, it is not something that I wanted to witness or capture with my camera. A professional nature photographer would have done that, but in the few seconds that I had to make the decision, I immediately knew that this was my choice, and I don't regret it at all.