Greetings.
I am a man in a suit who has fallen into the world of Minecraft.
Last time, I built a trick house in the castle town and put some treasures behind its hidden door.
Today, I want to leave town and look for foxes.
It would be lovely to bring a young fox home from the forest and make a little habitat for it here.
With the castle town behind me, I step outside the gate.
My destination is the taiga to the northwest.
After so much building in town, today is a journey to meet one of the forest’s residents.
A River Bridge on the Way to the Taiga
A river cuts across my path.
The trees continue on the far bank, but there is no crossing here.
After all that running, my hunger bar is looking rather sorry for itself, too…
I stop for some food and think about the return journey.
If I am bringing a fox back, a proper way across should help.
I lay down planks to make an L-shaped bridge across the river.
Now I can reach the other bank, and I will have a landmark on the way home.
A journey with an animal takes a little more thought than simply getting there.
I also build small shelters along the route and spend the nights inside as I work my way onward.
In the rainy taiga, I find Sweet Berry bushes.
I pick some red berries to keep ready for the foxes.
The bushes are prickly, though, and getting a little too close costs me a bit of health.
The official Minecraft fox article explains that feeding two foxes Sweet Berries or Glow Berries produces a baby.
It also describes wild foxes as inclined to keep away from players…
Perhaps holding a few berries will not make this as easy as I hoped.
Runaway Foxes and a Fresh Plan with More Leads
I find foxes in the forest and try to get closer.
They slip away when I approach at a normal walking pace.
Crouching lets me get nearer, but even a sleeping fox wakes when I come close.
At first, I try to manage with one Lead.
I bring one fox nearby, only for the pair to separate before I can feed the other.
Their timing and this old man’s hands are not working together.
The attempts stretch over several days, and night brings zombies and Creepers as well.
During these attempts, I also end up killing one wild fox.
I need to stop rushing toward the idea of bringing one home and start again more carefully.
Back in town, I make more Leads at the crafting table.
This time, five pieces of String make two Leads, giving me three in total.
The new plan is to secure the two foxes separately so they stay close together.
The official Java Edition 1.21.6 release notes describe the change to a String-only Lead recipe.
Being able to make them from String alone is welcome on this trip.
I head back into the forest and spend another night in a shelter.
This time, slowly and carefully.
I attach each fox to a fence post with its own Lead, then stand between them.
I give them Sweet Berries one after the other, and…
At last, a baby fox!
The two parents are the foxes visible in this picture; the young one is not distinguishable here.
I put a Lead on the youngster and release the parents back into the forest.
It has taken a few attempts, but now we can start the journey home.
Bringing the Young Fox Home to a Leafy Habitat
On the return route, I stop at a little shelter beside the river.
With the young fox from the forest, I make my way toward town, staying in shelters along the way.
The bridge I built earlier now comes in useful.
The official fox article explains that a baby born this way will not run away from the player, but may still follow its parents.
I use a Lead to bring this youngster home.
It seems wiser not to expect it to follow me everywhere like a dog.
Back in the castle town, I make a habitat east of the trick house.
A fence goes all the way around, with a leaf roof overhead and Sweet Berry bushes alongside.
Under the roof, I can see the awake fox from behind.
By the time we are back, the youngster has already grown into an adult.
After all the trouble in the forest, it is lovely to see the journey become a small part of the town.
The fox faces me as I look through the fence.
With leaves and berries around it, this corner feels a little like a forest, even here in town.
I hope it can settle in comfortably.
Now, let us look in on the habitat a little later.
The fox is curled up asleep beneath the leaf roof.
Its face is turned away, with its back and tail tucked into a small bundle.
After the foxes in the forest kept waking as I approached, seeing one rest here is quite a relief.
I stand in front of the habitat for a picture, with the castle town and keep behind me.
There is now a little woodland corner on the edge of town.
Going out and bringing an animal home can be quite a journey.
For now, I would like to spend a while watching this fox enjoy its new home.
That is all for this time.
Greetings.