Wheee!

February 13, 2009 5:43 PM

Foxes playing on trampolines.
posted by quin (64 comments total)

That's got to be more than a coincidence. I personally would rule out a conspiracy, and tend towards the theory that trampolines trigger something deep within the soul of foxes. Foxes were meant to bounce on trampolines.
posted by bitslayer at 5:48 PM on February 13 [11 favorites]

See also. [NSFPSENTWTMS]*

*Not Safe For People Smart Enough Not To Watch "The Man Show"
posted by dersins at 5:49 PM on February 13

Could use a little Yakety Sax.
posted by cazoo at 5:52 PM on February 13 [4 favorites]

They don't know how to use them! This was extremely frustrating to watch.
posted by orme at 5:54 PM on February 13 [34 favorites]

Okay, that seals it. Does anyone know where I can buy a russian tame fox ?
posted by Popular Ethics at 5:59 PM on February 13 [2 favorites]

Where I used to live we had ants on our trampoline, but unfortunately they didn't really get the gist of the thing being springy and bouncy.
posted by crapmatic at 6:03 PM on February 13 [3 favorites]

When I first saw these, I thought that foxes must be clever, figuring out how to (almost) use a trampoline. But then someone on reddit claimed that they were only jumping because they felt as if there was "something" beneath the trampoline that was pushing back up against them, so they're jumping away from it.
posted by wastelands at 6:05 PM on February 13

Boing boing exlemplified.
posted by buzzman at 6:10 PM on February 13

But wastelands, why wouldn't they get the heck away from the trampoline then?
posted by uosuaq at 6:11 PM on February 13

Cuteness. We has it.
posted by scratch at 6:13 PM on February 13 [1 favorite]

Boxer on a trampoline!
posted by jschu at 6:25 PM on February 13

(The actual link)
posted by jschu at 6:27 PM on February 13 [13 favorites]

Could use a little Yakety Sax.

Yes, that's quite a good addition.
posted by joe vrrr at 6:27 PM on February 13 [5 favorites]

Benny Hillifier and Foxes on Trampolines. Best of the web.

NO! Seriously. This is the best of the web. This is awesome.
posted by cavalier at 6:28 PM on February 13 [1 favorite]

When I first saw these, I thought that foxes must be clever, figuring out how to (almost) use a trampoline. But then someone on reddit claimed that they were only jumping because they felt as if there was "something" beneath the trampoline that was pushing back up against them, so they're jumping away from it.

That doesn't seem terribly likely to me.

Foxes jump around like that a lot. In fact, it's part of how they keep themselves alive.

They were almost certainly playing/practicing.
posted by Flunkie at 6:59 PM on February 13 [1 favorite]

I need to see a fox on a Roomba now, please.
posted by maudlin at 7:03 PM on February 13 [4 favorites]

HATE
posted by Joseph Gurl at 7:04 PM on February 13

It's not a trampoline thing. It's a fox thing.

It's your thing.
posted by netbros at 7:07 PM on February 13

Foxes are fun neighbors, just don't leave any towels or clothes outside unless you don't mind the kits using them to play tug of war.
posted by homunculus at 7:09 PM on February 13

How reflective are the bouncy surfaces of trampolines? Both the foxes and the hound (hee!) seem to be pouncing at it like they see something.
posted by CKmtl at 7:21 PM on February 13

Foxes are high in awesome.
posted by Mister_A at 7:29 PM on February 13

Fuck you, fox.
posted by donpedro at 7:30 PM on February 13 [1 favorite]

Thanks. This made me feel better.
posted by six-or-six-thirty at 7:52 PM on February 13

I have no idea how these people got foxes jumping on their trampolines, or why.
posted by LordSludge at 7:53 PM on February 13 [1 favorite]

Where I used to live we had ants on our trampoline, but unfortunately they didn't really get the gist of the thing being springy and bouncy.
posted by crapmatic at 6:03 PM


You had the wrong kind of ants!

That just immediately came to mind for some weird reason.
posted by orme at 7:59 PM on February 13

Laugh if you can. A fox playing on a trampoline killed my Father.
posted by facetious at 7:59 PM on February 13 [6 favorites]

I'm still waiting for the hovercraft full of eels.
posted by dunkadunc at 8:09 PM on February 13

SNOW CRAZED STOAT 'GOES BERSERK'
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 8:38 PM on February 13 [1 favorite]

BERSERK STOAT GOES ALL BENNY HILL IN THE HIZZEE
posted by isopraxis at 8:49 PM on February 13

When I first saw these, I thought that foxes must be clever, figuring out how to (almost) use a trampoline.

How reflective are the bouncy surfaces of trampolines? Both the foxes and the hound (hee!) seem to be pouncing at it like they see something.

Cats and ferrets can be the same way -- fucking around with the environment just to see what it does. Wow! I can knock over this pile of laundry just by jumping on it! I don't doubt that they're playing.
posted by dhartung at 8:53 PM on February 13

ENJOYED.
posted by Effigy2000 at 8:59 PM on February 13 [1 favorite]

Also, this just in, Trampolines on Fox.
posted by pazazygeek at 9:07 PM on February 13

SNOW CRAZED STOAT 'GOES BERSERK'

That video totally reminds me of exactly how my dog decided to play on my new neighbors' sectional couch the other day. My first instinct was to calm her down and apologize, but fortunately they thought she was so hysterical that I have a new free dogsitter now. Yay for people besides me who love my crazed puppy when she goes berserk! :)
posted by miss lynnster at 9:08 PM on February 13

That was funny. Wished they would jump just a bit harder, get some momentum and maybe do a flip or something.
posted by sharpener at 9:32 PM on February 13 [2 favorites]

CGI Elephant on a trampoline!
posted by zippy at 9:53 PM on February 13 [2 favorites]

This reminds me of my caddy-corner-neighbor's dog, who was watching me clean my windows today, and I swear to god, would have totally jumped from his 2nd floor balcony to my first floor balcony 50 feet away if I had a trampoline because HUMAN IS CLEANING WINDOWS!!! HOLY SHIT DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT THAT SHIT'S ABOUT?!! WINDOW CLEANING THAT'S FUCKING FASCINATING!!!
posted by dirigibleman at 10:13 PM on February 13 [3 favorites]

Totally fucking awesome.
posted by mediareport at 10:51 PM on February 13

It's not a trampoline thing. It's a fox thing.

I'm pretty sure watching the fox getting off in that fourth link that it's not just "a fox thing." Seems much more like a "omigod I'm a fox who jumps for a living and I've just found the COOLEST MOST FANTASTICALLY AWESOME SURFACE FOR JUMPING OH SHIT I JUST CREAMED MY LITTLE FOX PANTS" thing.
posted by mediareport at 11:00 PM on February 13 [6 favorites]

Not nearly as graceful - Bulldog on trampoline.
posted by louche mustachio at 11:10 PM on February 13 [2 favorites]

Those are some fleet foxes.
posted by mrnutty at 11:34 PM on February 13

I personally would rule out a conspiracy, and tend towards the theory that trampolines trigger something deep within the soul of foxes. Foxes were meant to bounce on trampolines.

I'm no fox expert, but foxes do pounce on prey in the wild. So my guess is that they've got to have a mean pounce instinct that bouncing on trampolines fulfills.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 1:07 AM on February 14

Well I just want to make babies now. Thanks a ton, Metafilter, for making me believe in the beauty of the goddamn world again, you shit.

O teh cuteness.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 1:31 AM on February 14 [7 favorites]

There's a joke to be made here about the traditional European sport of fox-tossing. But I just woke up, so no joke -- people just used to toss foxes around in a big blanket. Kind of a precursor to fox-jumping, I suppose.
posted by creasy boy at 2:52 AM on February 14

Arf! boing Arf! boing Arf! boing
posted by zippy at 3:06 AM on February 14 [1 favorite]

Fox are cool. When I was about 10, I had the acquaintance of a young fox. He was sweet, and young enough to be interested in sucking fingers. Decades latter, I was treated to watch a fox actually hunting, on a hill side. They are surprisingly cat-like in their pouncing.

Humans haven't had the best relations with fox-kind, owing to their fondness for chickens. Now that many of us no longer raise our own chickens, we can just enjoy the antics of the fox, and appreciate them for what they are.
posted by Goofyy at 4:00 AM on February 14

They do this when they hunt for prey in the snow as well. One minute they're listening to the snow for sounds of movement underneath, just staring at a spot on the ground, the next they're pouncing like a surprised cat.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 4:19 AM on February 14

I love the first link where one fox is jumping around and the other comes up and is all "Eff this jumping around crap, I want to bite you in the face some more."
posted by grapefruitmoon at 5:51 AM on February 14 [1 favorite]

Oh. The non-human kind of fox.
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:08 AM on February 14 [2 favorites]

In the fourth video, what is the big inflatable thing off to the left of the trampoline? (briefly visible at the very beginning, and in closeup at 1:45) Please tell me it's a human-sized hamsterball, because if it is I neeeeeeed one.
posted by ook at 7:17 AM on February 14

ook: You might want to look into Zorbing.
posted by LunaticFringe at 7:37 AM on February 14

SNOW CRAZED STOAT 'GOES BERSERK'

That looks pretty normal for happy young weasels. Who needs a trampoline?

/has ferrets, has kept ferrets for years (that link is not to any of my ferrets)
posted by dilettante at 8:08 AM on February 14

What is the geodesic looking object around 1:50 of the OP's 4th link?
posted by cjorgensen at 8:16 AM on February 14

::looks into zorbing::

It's the perfect valentine's day gift!
posted by ook at 8:22 AM on February 14

In the fourth video, what is the big inflatable thing off to the left of the trampoline?

I *think* it's something more like this, where you stay on the outside.

But on the other hand, although I haven't been able to track down one that has that design, it could be some kind of "zorb"?
posted by Drexen at 8:27 AM on February 14

Beaten to the giant inflatable punch!
posted by Drexen at 8:27 AM on February 14

BebbyHillifiedBoxeronTrampDoubled
posted by deCadmus at 9:05 AM on February 14

When I first saw these, I thought that foxes must be clever, figuring out how to (almost) use a trampoline. But then someone on reddit claimed that they were only jumping because they felt as if there was "something" beneath the trampoline that was pushing back up against them, so they're jumping away from it.

Totally ruined it for me.
posted by metastability at 10:13 AM on February 14

Caution: trampolines may cause psychosis in pugs.
posted by CKmtl at 10:29 AM on February 14

SNOW CRAZED STOAT 'GOES BERSERK'

I enjoy that the volume slider on that BBC video goes up to 11.
posted by rigby51 at 10:51 AM on February 14 [1 favorite]

Please tell me it's a human-sized hamsterball, because if it is I neeeeeeed one.
What is the geodesic looking object around 1:50 of the OP's 4th link?

The one in the video is a Gigaball. They come in several different colors and diameters of 5', 6' and 7'. They are made of standard kids-pool-toy quality vinyl: holds up OK on lawns but will instantly pop on pavement or rocky dirt. I'm 5-1 and can cram myself into the 6' ball.

We have two. For racing.
posted by jamaro at 11:26 AM on February 14 [2 favorites]

Fish on trampolines
posted by Sailormom at 8:26 PM on February 14

furries, start your yiffs
posted by tehloki at 4:12 PM on February 15

I really wish I had known that my wife found the original video that inspired this on Boing Boing; it would have made a far more perfect title for the thread.
posted by quin at 8:31 AM on February 16

Foxes 'nest' in tree: A family of foxes has made its home in a spindly tree 30ft in the air.
posted by homunculus at 10:54 AM on February 26