9 Backyard Trail Cams That Caught Night Visitors, Including Foxes That Stole One for Four Days

Animals
10/31/2026
9 Backyard Trail Cams That Caught Night Visitors, Including Foxes That Stole One for Four Days

My grandmother has never owned a camera, but she knows exactly which animal crossed her garden overnight by what is missing in the morning. Raccoons take the tomatoes, deer take the beans, and the turtle takes nothing at all. These 9 people set up backyard cameras to find out who really visits after dark, and the photos surprised them.

A Red Fox Wandered Past a Trail Cam in the Woods Behind Someone’s House

“This fox came by my trail cam in the woods behind my house.”

A Security Camera Alert Showed a New 600-Pound “Pet” in a Western Massachusetts Yard

“My security camera alerted me to a ‘pet’ seen in my yard last night.”

Let me introduce you to my new 600 pound “pet”. (Western Mass.)

I think he was looking for my bird feeders, but I had brought them inside.

The Most Photogenic Coyote on One Owner’s Trail Cams

“This incredibly photogenic coyote from one of my trail cams.”

From the author:

My grandmother reads her garden every morning the way other people read the paper. A tomato with one bite out of it means raccoon, because raccoons never finish anything. Bean plants trimmed flat at knee height mean deer. If nothing is missing, the turtle came through, taking the long way as usual. She has never once waited up to check.

Foxes Found the Trail Cam, Took It Into Their Den for Four Days and Then Pushed It Back Out

“Guess who found the trail cam”

I kept moving it, but eventually they stole it, brought it in the den for 4 days and then purged it out. Lots of clips of feet and bugs lol.

The Security Light Went Off at 1 A.M., and a Fox Kit Had Found the Dog’s Ball

The security light clicked on at 1 a.m. On the patio below the flower bed stood a fox kit, holding the family dog’s ball in its mouth like it had always been there.

“Wild fox finds a dog’s ball at 1am cam footage”

Three Raccoons Crowded the Lens of a Backyard Camera Trap

“Some raccoon pictures from my backyard camera trap”

A Bobcat Strolled Through a Connecticut Back Yard, One of Five Cameras on the Property

“Bobcat by trail cam in our back yard — Connecticut”

I have five cams on the property most of the time. Simple ones, not WiFi enabled or anything fancy. Also capture black bear, fox, coyote, deer, opossum, skunk, rabbit, squirrel, raccoon, birds, and sometimes spiders crawling on the lenses.

I have comparison photos of a large bobcat and of our 23 lb dog in the same spot with the same camera position (different days). The dog is about 2/3 the shoulder height of the bobcat. I’m guessing that the bobcat was about 35-38 lb.

From the author:
The one night visitor my grandmother would recognize anywhere is the box turtle that crosses her road every summer. She has never named it. She says giving a wild thing a name is the first step to thinking it belongs to you. Every animal here keeps its own schedule and its own route, and none of them checks with whoever owns the yard.

A Mother Opossum Showed Up on the Camera Trap, Likely Carrying a Litter in Her Pouch

“Mother opossum on my camera trap...”

She looks to be holding a litter in her pouch. Can’t wait to see them riding on her back!

A Trail Cam Caught a Whole Litter of Fox Cubs, and the Owner Is Hoping They Come Back

A few springs ago, a trail camera caught a whole litter of fox cubs tumbling around beside a stone wall.

Here is a trail cam photo of a litter of fox cubs from a few years ago.

Hopefully there will be another litter this year.

The person in the last story is still waiting for the next litter of fox cubs. Our yards are ours in the daytime. After dark, they go back to whoever was using them first.

If you put a camera in your yard tonight, who do you think would show up? Tell us in the comments.

Preview photo credit Tfmrf9000 / Reddit

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