One of the foxes who frequents the yard of the Cathedral of the Holy Ascension yawns as she awakens from her late-afternoon nap on the grass Tuesday. Unalaska’s weather for the Independence Day festivities should be sunny and warm with light breezes.
Yawning in canines is an appeasement gesture, something also referred to as a calming signal. Dogs, wolves, foxes, and other canines yawn to deflect a threat or avoid conflict. It’s the animal’s way of saying that she feels threatened or anxious, but is not going to attack. This fox was saying “James, you’ve got a 300mm lens in your bag, why don’t you put that on the camera and give me a little more space?”