December is the month before the start of the fox mating season. Red Dog is busily defending his Wilden Marsh territory as I write. Strange barks and loud, frantic, piercing screams are unlikely to indicate a savage assault on a much-loved pet. The pathetic yelping in the North Riverside Pasture yesterday certainly got attention, but it was nothing to worry over. A triple bark followed by a blood-curdling scream need not mean a person is under brutal attack by a wild animal. Horrifically tortured cries of someone forcing a baby through a meat grinder might not be what is happening. So, if you too hear blood-curdling screams on the marsh this month, don’t immediately assume murder. It is more likely to be Red Dog and his vixen canoodling.