The fox that fooled two bloodhounds by freezing on a log
A period anecdote in A Hundred Anecdotes of Animals tells of an American gentleman hunting a fox with two bloodhounds. After the dogs followed the scent for nearly two hours, they lost it beside a large log, where they circled and yelped. [1]
The fox was stretched out on the log, apparently lifeless. It remained motionless even when the gentleman approached closely enough to see it breathing; only when he raised a club did it spring away, evading the blow and escaping its pursuers for the moment. [2][3][4]
The story presents this as an example of fox-like cunning. It is a reported anecdote, however, not proof that foxes deliberately reasoned through the trick.
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