To photograph animals completely at ease, you need to have some sort of peace of mind yourself. Animals, being highly sensitive, immediately notice any kind of eagerness. After all, in nature it can be dangerous if another animal is focused on you. The trick is to turn yourself into some sort of uninteresting furniture, so to speak. I make myself invisible in order to just let them do what foxes do. And, if I’m lucky, that will be cuddling. But it is not something that I witness very often. And if I do, it certainly doesn't guarantee a good photo. Foxes value their privacy and their love bites often take place – very discreetly – behind a bush.

Unhunted foxes don’t consider humans a threat. They are very curious by nature and sometimes they approach people. I know from experience that people might find this a bit scary. They fear that a fox will bite or transmit diseases. This is completely unjustified, though. Foxes are not aggressive towards humans at all and fox bites are extremely rare. They might be interested in the food you bring, though, so it's wise to keep a healthy distance from wild animals, just for their well-being.

Not many (wild) animals can compete with foxes when it comes to cuddling skills. This summer, however, I found some baby barn swallows that enjoyed cuddling. But foxes remain the true hugging masters!

Foxes understand the importance of being kind, of treating others the way you want to be treated. Should we humans follow their lead, the world would be a much better place!

And if you look at these photos, what would be your type of foxy love?