The legendary silver fox is a creature of mystery rarely seen in the wild, and will – literally – run for the hills upon human encounters

Toyota Motor unveils a concept car the “PM”, is on display at a press preview for the Tokyo Motor Show in Makuhari, east of Tokyo October 23, 2003. PM is a single seater personal vehicle whose cabin posture changes from upright to reclined as speed increases. (Photo by Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)

Buddhist monks pray at Borobudur temple on Vesak Day, commonly known as “Buddha's birthday”, at the Borobudur Mahayana Buddhist monument on May 17, 2011 in Magelang, Indonesia. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

Yolanthe Cabau attends amfAR MILANO 2011 at La Permanente on September 23, 2011 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images for amfAR)

A protester gestures as he holds a dog before a burning barricade during protests in Harare, Zimbabwe on January 15, 2019. (Photo by Philimon Bulawayo/Reuters)

A woman worker prepares her stall at Tanah Abang textile market in Jakarta, Indonesia January 11, 2017. (Photo by Fatima El-Kareem/Reuters)

A young child reaches out to a Gentoo penguin as it swims in its enclosure at Pairi Daiza Park in Cambron-Casteau, Belgium, Monday, July 5, 2021. Pairi Daiza, one of the biggest zoos in Europe, has recently added ten Gentoo penguins to their animal population. (Photo by Virginia Mayo/AP Photo)

The sun rises this morning behind the 173ft spire of St Mary's church in the market town of Whittlesey in Cambridgeshire, UK on February 17, 2024. The church dates from the 13th century with the Ashlar faced tower added in the 15th century. (Photo by Andrew McCaren/London News Pictures)