When a fox is on the prowl, it takes a cool cat to see him off. (Photos)
Luckily Syoma the cat is one cool customer - living on the ice-locked fringes of Kamchatk, on the far eastern fringes tip of Russia.
So when this fox came to scout out the area, Syoma gave him no room - chasing him off the property without even blinking.
Syoma is described as ferocious - although, when he wants to be, he can be friendly enough.
When he was a kitten, he was nearly carried off by a bird of prey, and since then he has never offered a second chance to any animals that come to visit.
He spends his days keeping the mice away from his home - an entry point to the Kronotsky Nature Reserve.
But Sergei Krasnoschekov, who took these pictures, added that the cat is friendly enough to humans, once he gets to know them.
He said: 'I learned it from the first few seconds of our acquaintance. My attempt to pat the animal ended with him hissing, scratching and biting.
'Of course, he tolerated me after that - it was only for show.'
Even with the fox, there was not much maliciousness involved. Sergei said the cat and the fox were playing - but added it seemed a thin line between playing and fighting.
Sergei added: 'The fox in my opinion, is just teasing the cat, making him play and run.
'Yet both seem to be having fun, and this does not appear to be an all-out territorial battle.
Kronotsky Nature Reserve is one of the few places in Russia with active volcanoes and geysers, and - like Iceland - is sometimes called the Land of Fire and Ice.
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Proud Cat
Just beautiful! :) Beautiful animals & beautiful landscape.
That is so cute. I feed squirrels,crows & magpies in the morning. and my cat Buster waits for them to come and feed. They come up to the window and look at him. It's a morning ritual now. Buster loves his squirrel and bird friends... he gets so excited at the birds he just shakes and whimpers...lol
That needs a video!!
he would like to taste one of those feathered friends of ours.
when I see these pics..I become so glad & after seing the comment I become happy to know of more & more people that love animals))))
Definitely more play than aggression - you can tell by the position of Syoma's tail - cats and foxes often play together - as long as food is not an issue ;-)
Really ICY STARE, so majestic.
That's one tough cat
Grt clicks
That fox is so beautiful
Cats as always
Gorgeous
I have a white female cat with a thick fluffy coat who looks like this -always wondered about her origin.
AMAZING .
HERE KITTY,KITTY!
just beautiful : )
What a beautiful animal, so majestic.
I love tough, brave cats! Thanks for sharing this. Don't get to see this side of the cat very often (unless you watch "My Cat From Hell" on TV). You've got one fine cat!