A red fox on a full moon’s night.

Written by Rinchen.

My dog’s more aggressive-than-usual- bark got me to peek out of the window. A pointed snout, bushy tail and thin body.. behold the Himalayan Red Fox (known as watze in Ladakh) glimmering under the full moon’s radiance. From its body language, I inferred that it was a frequent visitor. As at any other occasion, I wondered what it meant..symbolically that is.

The next step was an internet search. In vain I searched for its symbolism vis-à-vis Ladakh’s culture. What I found instead was about the nine tailed fox tale in Japan, China and Korea; k-drama fans must be familiar with the show that goes by the same name.

Then I had to revert to trying to analyze the situation by myself.

Was I overanalyzing? A sign of animals’ deprivation of food sources?

An online source said it symbolizes the end of a difficult time..

What struck me most was the sheer beauty of the fox, and specially it’s tail. Though it was emaciated, it’s tail was lush; in the moonlight, the white strands of the tail were magically luminescent.

I’ve spotted one during the day quite a few times before, yet spotting the red fox at night right at my doorstep got me thinking about it as an individual (the lighting matters they say, lol).

How was or rather is its life?  

tough in the harsh trans-himalayas of Ladakh? And let’s not forget the overbearing threat posed by feral dogs (with all due respect to the precious lives of dogs and any sentient being for that matter.. but then again one species shouldn’t be bred so recklessly that all others are threatened) ..

Liberating on the high peaks?

Confusing with increasing human footprint?

Thoughtful and contemplative through the majestic Himalayas?

I’ll never really know.. But, I guess we can all respect not only its life but also its individuality.

The beauty of a life unknown. The tale of the wandering watze.