Mohammad Murad And His Connection With The Arabian Red Fox Kit

The more exquisite the animal, the more skill it requires to capture its beauty and fierceness. Mohammad Murad, with his excellent skills and knowledge of the movement of the animals, captured the picture of an ‘Arabian Red Fox Kit’ outside their den in the city known for its tradition of theatre, that is Kuwait City. It appears that the Arabian red fox kit was out of its den at the shore of Doha for exploring the city at night and just at that moment, Mohammad Murad captured them in the intricacy of the street light gracefully coupled with ‘hand flash lights’ which are two small continuous rimmed light/backlight.

This picture was not the upshot of a single day or a single week’s work, rather it was the hard work and precision to follow the Arabian red fox for 2 months for about 4 days a week that finally resulted in this picture. Mohammad Murad visited the den of the Arabian red fox for 2 months continuously and with every week he went a little closer. He didn’t jump near the den at the very first instance because the den was located at sea level giving him minimum or no space to photograph the kit. Also, the occurrence of high tides makes the space so compact that even standing becomes an issue. So, the start was with spending 3 to 5 hours regularly after sunset at about 20 away from the playing space of the kit. 

Well, like us humans, the animals are also curious about us. So, it was not just. Mohammad Murad was trying to get close to the kit but even the kits of the red fox wanted to come close to him and satisfy their curiosity about the gear he was carrying. A moment came when two of the kits came so close to him that they started licking his camera and his feet and he got the opportunity to record a video of the innocence of these kits as they mingled around licking his gear and playing with him. 

The entire tenure of two months made Mohammad Murad feel responsible for the kit. The reason for this was that he had 5 kids himself, 4 girls and a boy just like the five kits and he felt an attachment and sense of security towards them. Also, he was scared that what if the kits vested their trust in someone else like they did in him got themselves killed because people did take them to be dangerous animals. So just to ensure the safety of these kits, he went there every 4 or 5 days to check on them, and sometimes he went without his gear, just to sit and watch them play like a parent would do with their children. 

It was not just this one den at the shore of Doha, but about 5 dens of the Arabian red fox that Mohammad Murad had found, and they were located at different places like the natural reserve. Two dens out of these were closer than others and so he spent about 4 hours daily over there for about two months to get acquainted with the kits. Like the normal behavior of any small child, the kids were scared of him at first but eventually, they realized that he would harm them and they started coming close. There was a time when the sound of his car made them look out of their den and as soon as he parked it, they started coming out of the den one by one like moving to meet their loved one. Their familiarity and trust helped Mohammad Murad to record their videos while they played at his feet, licked his feet and his gear. 

Mohammad Murad clicked a picture to show the beauty and innocence of these animals but he also felt the same emotions while working around them and getting to know their behavioral patterns. In two months, he had such a strong connection with them that he felt of them as his family as took it up as his responsibility to keep them safe and not lose anything for trusting him.