Suddenly, he was there. A stocky dog fox, bold, alert and crystal clear, standing in my thermal. I quickly muted the electronic caller before the fox honed in on it. He had, no doubt, already pinpointed the location of the noise, but if he rushed in and saw the caller the ruse would be up.
I flicked on the infrared illuminator sitting atop the night-vision unit and, in one smooth and slow movement, swung the rifle round to line up on the incoming predator. The fox was almost on the caller, padding softly through the damp grass in the darkness; his piercing eyes hunting between every blade of grass for the dying prey he had heard so clearly.
Suddenly, he froze. His sixth sense alerted him to danger; nose twitching, his
