Red fox
| Red fox Temporal range: Mid-Pleistocene–Recent | |
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| A red fox, photographed at the British Wildlife Centre in Surrey, England | |
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| Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758) | |
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| Distribution of the red fox. Basically, they are all over the northern hemisphere | |
The red fox (scientific name: Vulpes vulpes) is a mammal of the order Carnivora. It is the biggest and most well-known species of fox. Red foxes are sometimes hunted for sport, or killed as pests or carriers of rabies.[2]
Description
[change]Red foxes have long legs, pointed triangular black ears, a pointed snout, and a long bushy tail.
Foxes also communicate with each other by urinating on trees or rocks, like dogs sometimes do. Its back, sides, and head are usually covered with reddish-brown fur, and its neck and chest are covered with white fur. The tail tip of a red fox is white. Its legs and paws are normally black.[3]
Diet (what they eat)
[change]Red foxes are omnivores. The animals that they can eat are small mammals, birds, invertebrates (like insects and worms), fish, reptiles (like lizards), and amphibians (like frogs). The plants that they can eat are fruits and vegetables. What they eat is different depending on where they live. Their top 5 favourite foods are as follows: rodents (like mice and rats), invertebrates, rabbits (and hares), fruit, and birds.[4]
The mammals that they eat are mice, rats, voles, squirrels, rabbits, and hares. They rarely eat bigger animals, like deer and sheep. They eat almost every type of bird, and they also eat eggs. When they are raised by humans, they can also eat pet food. They store leftover food to eat later.
Hunting
[change]Red foxes normally hunt alone, but sometimes 2 foxes will hunt together. When it sees prey, the fox crouches low to the ground and moves towards the prey, while trying to stay quiet and hiding. If the prey sees the fox, the prey runs away and the fox might chase after it. The prey can escape by running in to bushes. They mostly hunt at night, sunrise, and sunset.[5] Red foxes will keep on hunting even when they are full.[3]
Predators
[change]Red foxes have a few natural predators (predators are animals that eat foxes). Their predators are wolves, coyotes, bears, cougars, and lynxes, while eagles, hawks, owls, and badgers are predators of red fox kits, although eagles can kill adult foxes. Humans are the worst enemies of foxes as humans kill foxes for their fur.
Mating
[change]Red foxes usually mate in the winter. The vixen (female fox) normally gives birth to a litter of 2 to 12 pups. When red foxes are born, they are brown or gray. Although a new red coat usually grows in one month, some red foxes have other colored coats such as golden, reddish-brown, silver, or even black. The mother of the pups, after she weens them, feeds them at first by regurgitating food into their mouths.[5]
Sleep
[change]Foxes generally do not sleep in dens unless they are females who are giving birth to or raising cubs. Female foxes seek out dens made by other animals, like rabbits or badgers, but will dig their own den if necessary. Foxes in the wild curl up in a ball out in the open to sleep, keeping warm by covering themselves with their bushy tails. Foxes who live in urban areas may sleep under structures such as sheds.
Habitat
[change]Red foxes are native to North America, Asia, North Africa, and Europe. They were brought by humans to Australia 200 years ago. They live in a lot of different habitats, including: forests, grasslands, fields, mountains, deserts, and snowy tundras. They also live in towns and cities, and on farms.[1]
Foxes in Australia
[change]There are about 1.7 million foxes in Australia. Early settlers brought red foxes to Australia in the 19th century, because they wanted to hunt the foxes as a sport. In the next 100 years, foxes spread across Australia and became an invasive species. Red foxes kill hundreds of millions of animals in Australia every year, which strongly hurts the continent's biodiversity.[6] Currently, there are efforts to reduce the fox population.[7]
Pictures
[change]- Pictures of red foxes
A red fox's face.
A red fox's eyes.
A red fox yawning.
A red fox in the snow.
A red fox drinking water.
A red fox lying down.
2 red fox pups playing together.
A red fox climbing on top of a fence in London.
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References
[change]- 1 2 Hoffmann, M. & Sillero-Zubiri, C. (2021). "Vulpes vulpes". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021.
- ↑ Terrance B. Adamson. "Red fox facts". National Geographic Society. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
- 1 2 Peter A. Frid. "The Red Fox". Durham, NH 03824: New Hampshire Public Television. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link) - ↑ "Variation in red fox Vulpes vulpes diet in five continents". Mammal Review.
- 1 2 Mark Moran. "Studies of the red fox from the northern Virginia ecology". Fairfax County Public Schools. Archived from the original on 2017-08-10. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
- ↑ Stobo-Wilson, Alyson; Murphy, Brett; Dielenberg, Jaana; Woinarski, John; Legge, Sarah; Fleming, Trish. "1.7 million foxes, 300 million native animals killed every year: now we know the damage foxes wreak". The Conversation. Retrieved 2022-10-30.
- ↑ "European fox | Vulpes vulpes" (PDF). The State of Queensland, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries. Retrieved 2022-10-30.[permanent dead link]
