An Adorable Giggling Fox

I don't know much about foxes either, but can think of many possible explanations for those sounds and movements, some of which are less cute unfortunately (such as stress from being trapped).

It's not stress, it's from the pills. JK.

Dogs when are happy and they want to play have a similar behaviour. Just notice the tail of the fox, it denotes a playful mood. However, the change of mood towards the end of the clip might come from noticing the camera.

Classic play behavior. What interests me is that an adult is doing it.

Pet the d*mn fox already! By the end of that she had me as crazed as that poor thing.

Foxes have a way of looking cute right up to the point of attacking. I vote rabies.

Maybe even "dee ray-bees."

That fox is one handsome fellow. We should work on breeding the mean out of them, but keeping their physical appearance. Wouldn't it be cool to have a dog/fox? I mean, a fox that looked like a fox but behaved like a dog. Or a dog that looked just like a fox. Whatever. You get what I'm saying. I want one.

Apprently it has "neuro problems" so there's something wrong with the poor creature but at least it's being looked after.

OOO I want a tamed fox. Red Bunny, http://cbsu.tc.cornell.edu/ccgr/behaviour/Index.htm
There's actually an experiment going on in Russia that took wild foxes (think they were purchased from a fur farm) and basically bred out aggression etc etc.
They're actually successful at it and the calm foxes act just like a regular domesticated dog.
On Netflix instant watch there is a program, Dog Decoded, that has a small segment about it.
Anywho... to repeat.. I want one!

There was an interesting study that showed a *very* strong link in dogs between aggressiveness and appearance. Foxes that look wild might always be wild.

My suggestion is to find a dog that looks enough like a fox and to call it Foxxy.

@Red Bunny and Lisa L
The foxes you mentioned were featured in the March 2011 National Geographic. The farm is the Institute of Cytology and Genetica, loaded in Novosibirsk.

SibFox has foxes from Institute of Cytology and Genetics in Novosibirsk, Russia for sale in the US.

LisaL and Frau- Yes, I have seen the entire documentary. It's been maybe a year ago or so but seeing this little guy reminded me of it. It was awesome. They went both ways with it; made the aggresive ones more aggresive (evil little SOB's) and the nicer ones more domestic. If I remember correctly, the experiment had been going on for about 50 years or so. They were up to around the eighth? generation or so. Fascinating stuff. Playing God with genetics. But at this point, still highly controversial. Hitler wanted to try it with people. You can see where this is going. I think eugenics was declared illegal after WWII.
But, I'm talking about foxes, not people. I don't see the harm in breeding adorable little foxes to sit in your lap and keep you warm while you pet behind their ears and watch TV.
Now, where can I find some foxes for sale? I'll be taking orders in 50 years. Hit me up.

@Frau, @Red Bunny and @LisaL: Unfortunately, it costs about $50k to get one of those Belyaev Expirment docile foxes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzTcmE-pMLU

50k? I thought it was more like 5-6k? Still damn expensive. Far too much for me unfortunatly. I can always dream about having one heh

Oh stop it with the tame foxes... Get a Shiba Inu for godssakes.

fleas, maybe. Lots and lots of fleas. He doesn't look comfortable, in any case.

I agree with Ignatius and Guang. The fox looks scared and nervous. S/He's offering appeasing and submissive behaviors to the camera holder, alternating with little feints of aggression to scare her away. The human is not clued in and is treating the animal as "cute"; which it is not.

Wild animals in captivity DO NOT EQUAL domesticated ones.

I grew up in northern Alberta(Its in Canada) and as a kid there was a group of foxes that would play with me and my sister. They acted in the same way when they wanted to be pet. The mother of the three cubs would sit on top of the hill and watch over. Every winter they would come back but after four years something happened and we never seen the family again.

The trouble with breeding foxes for tameness is that, as the behaviour gets more and more doglike, so does the appearance of the fox. The late-generation "tame" foxes in the Russian experiments looked more like dogs than foxes - with short noses, floppier ears and so on. I think even the bushy tail was going...
It seems that the genes influencing wildness/tameness are tied up with the ones which make the appearance foxlike/doglike.