25-06-2025
Elusive creature captured on video — at 8,500 feet of elevation in CA. See it
A wildlife photographer is one step closer to his mission of photographing an extremely rare creature in the mountains of California.
After three years of scouting, Randy Robbins filmed a subspecies of red fox that lives only in high elevations in the Sierra Nevada mountains this past winter, the photographer said in a video posted to his YouTube account on June 14.
'The Sierra Nevada Red Fox is an extremely rare and endangered subspecies of red fox native to very high elevation subalpine terrain along the Sierra crest and north into the Oregon Cascades,' a caption on Randy Robbins Photography's video says. 'There are an estimated 70 individuals remaining in California, 20-30 of which live in the Mt. Lassen area within Lassen Volcanic National Park. Operating under permit with the park service, I have spent three years pursuing footage and photos of the Lassen population. This camera spent the winter in this location at 8500' on a promising rock ledge…'
The video shows a fluffy fox walking right up to the snowy ledge to take in the view of the valley below. Another clip shot about a week later after some snow had melted on the rock ledge shows a fox taking the same route, then heading in the other direction for a stretch before returning to perch and then curl up on the ledge overlooking the valley.
'The scientists I've been talking to are very excited about it because it shows behavior,' Robbins told McClatchy News over the phone. 'You usually only get a fleeting glimpse, at night, running by a camera. So this is like three minutes of watching one be a fox, hanging out on a rock, sunning itself.'
Robbins believes the foxes 'like to look out over their terrain' and oversee their environment — as much as they enjoy warming themselves on the rock and 'soaking up the sun.'
'This is beautiful to watch,' someone said in the video comments. 'It is nice to see this relaxed fox enjoying the view. May his wilderness never be disturbed.'
One person commented saying they loved seeing the fox return 'to patrol their territory.'
Several people thought it looked like the fox was simply enjoying the view from its high altitude perch.
'I love how he/she curled up on that rock!' someone said. 'Really must love that view!'
Lassen Volcanic National Park is about a 180-mile drive north from Sacramento.
