The common or red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is a widespread predatory mammal of the canine family.
The fox is familiar to everyone, at least from Russian folk tales, where she invariably takes the place of a cunning, quick-witted and far-sighted hero, where she is usually referred to respectfully as Lisa Patrikeevna. In fact, this animal, the size of a small dog, is really smart, but not as smart as our usual pets - dogs and cats. However, the fox is smart enough to successfully survive Russian frosts and find food even in the most treeless areas.
Foxes, which have learned to adapt to a wide variety of climatic conditions, are extremely widespread. Their habitat is almost the entire territory of Europe and Asia, North America and North Africa. These animals also successfully acclimatized in Australia, where they were brought in the mid-19th century.
The fox lives in a wide variety of regions - from mountains and southern steppes to taiga expanses and tundra. These predators can be found in places where no one has gone before, and near rural outskirts. Being an ecologically flexible animal, the fox adapts surprisingly well to a wide variety of living conditions, but prefers open landscapes: forest patches, hills, ravines, fields, forest-steppes. She is not very fond of the remote taiga, snow-covered areas and desert.
Description of the fox
The common fox is the largest species of the fox genus. The body length of the animal is 60-90 cm, weight – 6-10 kg.
The color and size of foxes vary in different areas. There is a pattern: the further north, the larger and brighter the foxes are, the further south, the smaller the size of the animal, and the fur loses its brightness and becomes dull. The most popular color of foxes is a bright red back with a vague dark pattern, a white (rarely black) belly, and dark paws. In southern latitudes, the color of fox fur varies from light gray to sandy yellow.
The undoubted decoration of any fox is its tail: fluffy, with white underfur and a black tip. Sometimes its length is almost equal to the length of the animal’s body.
The fox's body is light, dry and agile: the animal is capable of bending, crawling along the ground while hiding prey, and stretching out while running fast. The legs are thin and sinewy, flexible at the joints. Like most animals that can run fast, the fox runs using its toes. This explains the calloused, hard soles and short, blunt claws. The great length and strength of the hind legs contributes not only to rapid movement on level ground, but also to making unexpected jumps and turns, in which the long tail acts like a steering wheel and helps maintain balance. The same tail, fluffy, like most of the body, serves as a blanket for the fox during sleep. Curled up in a ball and wrapping its tail in front, the fox uses it as a muff, immersing the coldest parts of the body - the legs and the muzzle covered with short hair - in the long soft hair. If you look closely at the head of the animal, it is not difficult to discern the main features of the predator. Relatively large and erect ears indicate excellent hearing, a strongly protruding muzzle with a thin nose indicates an equally perfect sense of smell, lively, yellow and slightly slanted eyes with a slit-shaped pupil (set vertically, like in cats, but slightly more rounded) - o vision adapted to darkness.
Fox lifestyle
Foxes, as a rule, are nocturnal, but there are also those that hunt for food in the morning and daytime hours and sleep at night.
Foxes can dig very long and multi-chambered burrows in the slopes of ravines or hills, but they are not used as permanent homes. Burrows serve for breeding and sometimes as shelter from danger. Here the female gives birth and brings 5-6 cubs. For safety, the fox hole has several exits - holes. The fox cubs live in the main chamber underground, but they can escape from the enemy (for example, from the fox terrier, a breed of dog specially bred for hunting foxes) through emergency exits. Sometimes the fox uses other people's holes - badgers or marmots, driving out clean owners with their sharp and strong smell.
Foxes do not hibernate. Throughout the cold season, they wander around their territory and rarely use their burrows.
The fox is a cautious animal, but at the same time it is not short of curiosity. An empty tin can, a colored piece of paper - whatever comes her way, she will definitely examine it. What motivates a fox when it comes out to the noise of a car or train - simple curiosity or curiosity related to personal safety? The beast seems to be checking who has appeared in the forest and who to expect trouble from.
Each animal has its own area where it lives and gets its food, and if the “borders” were violated by another fox, the integrity of the territory is restored through a fight.
What do foxes eat?
The fox is a typical predator. Its main and most constant prey are mice, for which both the thin incisors and the narrow snout are excellently adapted for grasping.
In winter you can watch a fox mouse. If the snow is shallow, then the animal senses the mouse under it, and from above, using its sense of smell, “monitors” the movement of prey under the snow cover. The fox stands on its hind legs, waits, and then suddenly, in a jump, rushes with its front paws to the place where the victim is hiding under the snow layer. Only the difficulty of catching mice in the snow or in the quantity necessary to feed puppies usually forces one to turn to catching birds and large rodents.
In general, the fox is an omnivorous animal. Everything that comes under her paw alive is used for food: from snails and beetles to hares and black grouse sleeping under the snow. It happens that Patrikeevna visits chicken coops, as well as city dumps, where there is always something to profit from. She does not disdain plant foods - berries and fruits. The animal happily catches fish and crayfish, and sometimes even digs up earthworms.
The fox is of great economic importance as an exterminator of rodents and insect pests. At the same time, foxes are carriers of an acute infectious disease - rabies.
Family matters
“Wedding time” for foxes begins in February-March. Several males court one female at once, without leaving her a single step. Fights for the “beloved” between males at this time are inevitable. The strongest of the strongest becomes the father of a family, which usually has 4-6 puppies, sometimes more (up to 12-13). The duration of a fox's pregnancy is 52-56 days. Puppies are born blind and deaf, but covered with fluffy brown fur. Already by the twentieth day, the fox cubs begin to crawl out of the hole, but even up to one and a half months they continue to feed on their mother’s milk. The rapidly growing young animals become increasingly difficult to feed, and parents (and both mother and father take part in raising the younger generation) begin to teach them the wisdom of hunting. Now the puppies already run away from the hole at decent distances and begin to catch small animals - beetles, grasshoppers, etc. Usually by August the young animals have grown so much that they can live independently. Foxes become sexually mature at the age of one year.
In natural conditions, the life expectancy of a fox is rarely more than 7 years, but in captivity they can live up to 20 years. This difference is due to the fact that in nature this animal itself can become prey for larger predators - bears, wolves, wolverines, and even birds - hawks, eagles, falcons and golden eagles, and for amateur hunters the fox is a desirable hunting trophy. Some people keep foxes as pets, although the very phrase “pet fox” is quite controversial. But nevertheless, in captivity, foxes live much longer for obvious reasons - people take care of them, they live in peace, do not waste energy searching for food, etc.
In contact with
Patrikeevna, the little fox-sister, and the robber are popular heroes of folk tales, familiar from childhood. Cunning, cunning, deceit are the main qualities with which the fox is associated. Why did the fox get such a reputation? Is it a result of survival instinct or habitat?
The fox belongs to the predatory mammals from the canine family. It resembles a wolf and a domestic dog: white or dark brown low limbs, sharp dark tips of the ears, an elegant body, an elongated muzzle, an oblong fluffy tail.
The size and coloring of the animal depends on the habitat: in the north the animals are large (up to 90 cm) with a light color, and in the south they are small (from 18 cm) with a dull color. Representatives of mountainous regions are characterized by black-brown coat color. Most often, there are foxes with a bright red back, white belly and dark paws. All types of foxes have thin paws and white fur at the tip of the tail. The weight of the animal, depending on the species, ranges from 700 g to 10 kg.
Functions of the tail
The luxurious tail of a fox saves you from cold and strong winds in winter. Length - 20-30 cm. For fennec fox - 40-60 cm. The animal is wrapped in it like a duvet. By hiding its muzzle in the fluffy fur of its tail, the animal camouflages itself from its enemies. The cunning predator uses its tail as a stabilizer when catching hares; it deftly rearranges its movement in different directions. Another use for the tail is as a ploy for pursuing enemies. During long chases, the animal takes the fluffy bait to the side and makes a sharp turn of its body in the other direction. While the enemies, having accelerated, run straight, the animal manages to gain time and hide. Predators always run with their tails raised to avoid the accumulation of snow and water. When the tail freezes, it is difficult to catch up with the victim and run away from enemies.
Types and names
Cunning predators have adapted to life in various natural areas. There are more than 55 species of foxes, which belong to different genera.
At the root of the tail there is a gland that produces the scent of violets. The aroma intensifies during the breeding season. The function of the gland in the life of the predator has not been revealed for certain. Hunters claim that it is intended to facilitate the search for the groom.
The white color of the tip of the tail has a special purpose: a signal for fox cubs. The animal attracts the attention of its cubs, helping them make their way through bushes and tall vegetation. Little foxes follow the white beacon and do not stray from the road.
Eyes
The eyes of foxes are characterized by vertical pupils, like those of cats. The structure of the eye is not aimed at recognizing colors. Adaptation of the eyes to the nocturnal lifestyle allows you to quickly respond to moving objects and navigate in the dark.
Survival in the wild is facilitated by developed visual memory. Predators are able to remember shelters and paths located far from the hole.
Wool
Foxes' fur is long, thick and soft. The main color is all shades of red. The peculiar color scheme helps to hunt on the edges and fields in the fall. Among the dry grass, animals are less noticeable. Closer to winter, predators move to places with dried weeds and tall marsh grasses of a brownish-red hue, like fox fur. In winter, the wool thickens, reliably protecting it from frost. Although the red fox's color does not change to camouflage, this does not prevent it from getting food.
In summer, the molting period begins. The animal sheds its fur, adapting to the surrounding temperature. The fur becomes sparse and dull.
Sounds
Fox sounds resemble the hoarse barking of dogs with a variety of intonations and shades. Each type of fox has its own set of sounds and voice timbre, used for different situations.
In the natural environment, it is difficult to catch, let alone eavesdrop on, a fox; they are very careful. Those who are lucky enough to hear a fox's voice claim that the hoarse sounds vaguely resemble a human voice. The mother fox calls her cubs in a quiet, drawn-out voice. If danger threatens, she emits a short “ko”, the fox cubs immediately fall silent and stop moving.
An alarming yelp can be heard in the following cases:
- enemies crossed the territory;
- there is an attempt on the prey;
- “strangers” approach the hole with fox cubs;
- chattering teeth, growls and moans indicate a male tournament.
Researchers admit that the calm communication of foxes among themselves resembles meowing and even joyful screams.
Little fennec foxes howl, whine, bark. When a stranger appears, mini predators begin to hiss nervously and chirp offendedly. Large species of foxes - corsacs, living in the North, are distinguished by low intonations. Animals rarely communicate with each other because they live alone. Growling, uterine clicking are sounds characteristic of corsacs.
People who work with foxes at the zoo are able to distinguish the individual voices of each individual. By following the intonations, we can say for sure that foxes:
- angry;
- want to feed their offspring;
- the foxes' names;
- looking for a partner to mate with;
- missed freedom.
steppe fox
Corsacs live in the steppes and fields of Asia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, and Iran. Steppe foxes live in hilly areas with little vegetation. They don't go near the forest.
Body length - from 45 cm to 65 cm, weight - up to 7 kg. Coat color: gray with a yellowish-reddish tint. In winter, the fur color changes to straw-gray. Corsacs are distinguished by their ability to climb trees. While running, they reach speeds of up to 65 km/h.
The steppe fox creates a pair for life, but before this there is a fight between young males for females. Gestation of fox cubs lasts 2 months. They are born blind, covered with light brown fluff. Within a month, little foxes begin to eat the meat of rodents, mice, gophers, birds or jerboas.
If the fox does not find meat, it begins to eat fruits, vegetables, and herbs in order to maintain the vitamin balance of the body.
The steppe species has many enemies: other foxes, birds of prey, wolves. Corsacs run quickly and become exhausted. Therefore, they become the prey of a gray predator. Corsacs are listed in the Red Book. People value their warm fur.
Mountain foxes
The body length of this breed of fox reaches 90 cm. Tail length: 40-60 cm. Mountain foxes live in caves, cracks, beams, badger holes and hollows. Their diet consists of rodents, birds, insects, fruits, and berries. In winter they do not disdain carrion. In spring, predators become more active and attack roe deer and mouflons. A large number of mountain representatives have been recorded in Crimea.
Foxes are regulators of the number of harmful insects and rodents that infect vegetation.
sand fox
Lives in deserts. This species is distinguished by wide ears and paws protected from overheating by fur pads. The fox's body is slender (up to 4 kg), sandy in color, adapted to survive in the desert. Foxes can be content with moisture obtained from the trophy for a long time. Being omnivores, they eat everything that comes their way (bugs, eggs, reptiles, roots, food waste).
There is a legend that foxes can extract moisture from the air using the night breeze.
Sand foxes actively use the scent glands of their bodies. The greeting begins with sniffing the anal glands. These same glands protect against strangers: foxes, like skunks, back away and spray the enemy with a specific secretion.
Foxes live in large families. They take turns patrolling the territory, marking it with urine. The size of the patrolled area reaches 70 km². Sand foxes are killed for their fur. The Bedouins use them as food.
polar fox
The body length of the arctic fox is 50-75 cm, the tail reaches 30 cm. Weight ranges from 4 to 6 kg, although there are also overweight representatives of the species - up to 12 kg. Arctic foxes differ from foxes in their seasonal color changes: in winter the fur is snow-white or blue, and in summer it is brown, reddish-black. The arctic fox's paws are squat and buried in fur. The Arctic fox's ears are shorter than those of other fox species.
In winter, Arctic foxes wander in search of food: they go to the coasts of oceans and seas.
In summer they lead a sedentary lifestyle. One arctic fox is capable of controlling up to 20 km² of territory. Like all canines, they live in burrows. By choosing a place on a hill, you protect your home from flooding.
In winter, arctic foxes do not use burrows; they dig holes in the snow. Animals are characterized by persistence. They do not run away from large predators, but only run away to the side. When the opportunity arises to snatch a piece of meat, the Arctic foxes approach again and take theirs. They calmly carry polar bears close to them, sometimes sneak into human settlements, and take food from domestic dogs. The Arctic fox loves active hunting, but also does not miss the remains of someone else's food. If they are not hungry, they bury the food they have caught under ice.
The main enemy of the Arctic fox is hunger and lack of food. They do not live to old age precisely for this reason. Among the inhabitants of the North Pole, the Arctic fox can be harmed by a bird of prey, a wolf or a raccoon dog.
Lifestyle
Individually or in a pack, foxes occupy an area that can feed them and provide them with burrows. Burrows are rarely dug themselves; they often use empty ones after burrowing animals.
Housing is often covered with dense thickets, masked by soil emissions, food waste, and excrement. Permanent burrows are used only during the period of raising fox cubs. Hiding from pursuit, they can settle in any available hole.
Where does he live?
Carnivorous mammals live on almost all continents. Most common habitats:
- Europe;
- northern part of Africa;
- Australia, except the northern part;
- North America;
- Asia to northern India.
What does a fox eat?
Being a born hunter, the animal feeds where it lives. The type of food is determined by the area, time of year, and age of the predator. Small desert inhabitants react to the movements of small animals underground, attack rodents, and collect moisture from solid food. Polar inhabitants have adapted to eat algae, grass and blueberries when they are not hunting for meat. The favorite delicacy of the common fox is mice. The cunning animal loves to climb into birds' nests, eating eggs and hatched chicks. Steppe inhabitants feast on frogs, lizards, snakes and turtles. The Tibetan fox species waits for prey near the shelter or drives it into a trap.
Foxes stop hunting during the salmon spawning season. Dead fish last a long time.
Reproduction and lifespan
In the second year of life, the fox is ready for fertilization. Smaller species of the predator have offspring by 10 months. Animals can have cubs up to 8 years old. Males mature closer to a year.
Animals select the time of mating so that the fox cubs appear during the warm period, when food is abundant. During the matchmaking period, males choose a female and start fights in her honor. When foxes pair up, they frolic in the snow, bite each other's ears, and jostle playfully. The cubs are carried for 47-59 days. During periods of famine, animals give birth to 1-2 fox cubs, and during a prosperous period - up to 16.
Life expectancy rarely reaches or exceeds seven years. In its natural environment, the animal lives up to 5 children, dies from natural causes or becomes a victim of the enemy.
Enemies in the wild
Despite the fact that wild foxes are cunning, cautious animals, they have serious enemies:
- wolverines;
- the Bears;
- wolves;
- eagles, golden eagles;
- large species of foxes;
- badgers;
- domestic dogs;
- leopards, pumas.
Young predatory mammals suffer from attacks by crows, hawks, and eagle owls.
Breeding at home
A fox can be turned into a friendly pet. She is trainable. The animal requires certain care:
- regular brushing;
- bathing;
- place to sleep (spacious enclosure, bedding);
- daily walks in the fresh air.
Decorative fox
Fenech is a cute animal with a capricious character. Weighs up to 2 kg, body length is 40 cm. The cunning animal does not mind playing with cats and humans. Fenech does not tolerate sudden changes in temperature. Smart animals quickly get used to the tray.
What to feed?
Furry animals are omnivores and quickly adapt to human diet. The basis of nutrition is processed meat and offal. You can add eggs, berries, vegetables. The fennec cat's digestive system is not ready for fish bones and unpeeled fish.
How to maintain?
When choosing a place for your pet, you should take into account that the animal can jump up and climb into places where it is not needed. In order for the active creature and the owner’s house to remain in order, it is important to adhere to the rules:
- Lock windows before leaving home.
- Valuable, breakable items should be hidden.
- It is better to lock Fenka in a cage if he is left alone at home.
- Brushing will help improve the relationship between owner and pet.
- Fennecs cannot stand the cold. Temperature changes result in colds, inflammation of the animal's eyes, and often death.
- Walking fennec on a leash for small dogs.
Wild and domesticated foxes are curious. They calmly wait for the right moment and achieve their goal. Their behavior resembles fragments from fairy tales. The main character, approaching an object of interest to her, pretends that she is not interested in him and can lie down to sleep. As soon as the object lost its vigilance, the fox was right there.
Fox- one of the most graceful predators that fill almost the forests of Russia and many other countries! And today, friends, we will tell you about life common fox in nature.
Description of the common fox
In nature, there are more than 50 species of foxes, which have one thing in common - a slender physique. Fox rather resembles a cat, with a long build and a weight of 10 kg. She has an elongated muzzle, small pointed ears, short legs and a long, fluffy tail, which is the main decoration, along with fur, of course. The tail itself occupies about 40% of the body length, growing up to 40-60 cm. The fur of the predator requires special attention - most often the color is bright orange with a white belly and dark paws, but northern individuals are lighter. Fur common fox thick and short, which she sheds from February to mid-summer, acquiring a new soft and smoother one. But, the most interesting thing is in the form of shells, thanks to which the animal has excellent hearing, and it can clearly boast of a sense of smell. You've probably seen a fox jumping in the snow more than once in fairy tales? And all thanks to hearing, which allows a rodent to hear under a thick layer of snow . Lifespan of a common fox 30 years.
HABITAT AND REPRODUCTION OF FOXES
Where does the common fox live?
Fox- an animal that lives in pairs or families. 
As a rule, they independently dig holes for themselves for a comfortable existence, or settle in abandoned ones. For your hole fox chooses sandy soil next to a ravine where rain will not fall. But holes are needed only for shelter and breeding; in other cases, the animal can easily do without them. Do you know that fox inhabits Russia, America, Europe, reaching Africa and Australia. But not only the forest creates the most comfortable conditions; parks, cities and even landfills are no worse. Thanks to its hearing and sense of smell, the fox is a good hunter, diet which includes not only rodents and various animals, but also insects. Essentially, she is a predator that will eat anything that is edible - hares, snakes, lizards, fish, chicks and bird eggs, mainly hunting at night. 
And despite the short legs, the fox runs quite deftly and quickly.
Reproduction of foxes
At the end of winter, the female goes in search of a male, who may fight among themselves for the right to choose her. The winner gets the female's approval for reproduction. Pregnancy lasts approximately 50 days, and after their birth, the males again enter into battle for the right to raise the cubs. All newborns look more like small puppies with a white tail, which are born in small numbers between April and May.
VIDEO: ABOUT FOXES
IN THIS VIDEO YOU WILL LEARN A LOT OF USEFUL AND INTERESTING ABOUT THE LIFE OF FOXES IN NATURE
Elizaveta Patrikeevna, fox Alice, little fox-sister... This cunning beast is not affectionately called in folk tales. Today in our article - the animal fox, description, photo and video about this amazing red forest inhabitant.
Red fox (common fox)
The fox is the main character in many fairy tales; she is always described as a cunning thief, with a beautiful “fur coat” and a fluffy tail. Why is the fox called cunning? Is she really like this, or only in fairy tales?
The red fox belongs to the Canine family. She has pointed ears and an elongated muzzle. This animal also has unusually beautiful long-haired fur and a long fluffy tail, which serves as a “blanket” for the front paws and nose while the fox is resting.
The size of this animal is medium: the body length is no more than 90 centimeters, and the tail is from 40 to 60 cm. The animal weighs from 6 to 10 kilograms. The age to which a fox lives in the wild is no more than 7 years.
The red fox has a white tip to its tail and black spots on its paws.
In nature, the common fox has different coat colors, but on farms where foxes are bred, there are representatives of platinum color and silver-black. Such rare colors are valued among hunters, so if a fox that has escaped from a fur farm comes into the hunter’s field of vision, he will not stop until he catches it.
Red fox habitats
This species of fox lives on almost the entire planet, except, perhaps, the Arctic tundra and islands. The red fox can be found throughout the Eurasian continent, North America, the northern part of the African continent and even in Australia.
Foxes are excellent swimmers. By the way, they can even dive shallowly when hunting for fish. What does the red fox eat?
The fox is a predatory animal, so a variety of small animals can end up on its dinner table. Basically, these are rodents. Foxes also eat birds, fish (on spawning rivers), carrion, insects and berries.
The fox's hunting methods are very interesting; it can adapt to the habits of any animal that it has its eye on as food. For example, she can push a hedgehog straight into the water so that it turns around and can be grabbed by its abdomen, which has no needles. When hunting wild geese, foxes prefer to act in pairs: one distracts the flock, while the other sneaks up and attacks the prey in one jump. And she easily digs rodents out from under the snow, finding a place by sound. After all, it’s not for nothing that foxes are known as cunning animals - what kind of ways do they come up with to get food for themselves!
The fox “mouses” - hunts for a mouse under thick snow Hunting takes place around the clock, although the most successful time is twilight.
In general, the fox can be called an omnivore. Its “menu” includes almost 400 species of various animals and dozens of types of plant foods. Scientists have concluded that the number of rodents (especially field mice) directly affects the population of red foxes, since mice are the main fox food.
Listen to the fox's voice
Many people know foxes as poultry stealers. Very often, a fox sneaks into the chickens' roosting area and steals them. Although birds are not considered the main food of the red fox, the animal often eats them. In addition to chickens, the fox loves the meat of wood grouse, geese and other birds.
Foxes living in deserts have to be content with the meat of reptiles. If there is a shallow river nearby with fish, then the fox will certainly come there to feast on, for example, salmon. During the summer months the animal eats beetles and other insects.
Plant food is of little interest to foxes, but in the absence of meat food, the fox will be happy with fruits and berries, as well as any greenery.
Reproduction and offspring
The period for the birth of puppies (as fox cubs are called) is mainly considered to be mid-spring. To breed, foxes dig a deep hole, but sometimes they can occupy someone else’s. Typically, one female gives birth to four to six cubs. Pregnancy lasts from 44 to 58 days. After birth, the mother feeds the offspring with milk for about 1.5 months. When the cubs turn 2 years old, they become fully grown individuals. Mature fox cubs are fed with live prey, and the fox cubs kill the “food” themselves.
The fox, thanks to its ability to adapt to a wide variety of conditions, has mastered all climatic zones and all continents, except Antarctica.
Taxonomy
Russian name - common or red fox
English name - Red fox
Latin name - Vulpes vulpes
Order - carnivores (Carnivora)
Family - canids (Canidae)
Genus - foxes (Vulpes)
Conservation status of the species
The animal is common throughout its entire range.
Species and man
The red fox is very widespread, found in many countries, has a bright appearance and, of course, is not deprived of attention from humans. The fox is a constant character in fairy tales, legends, and myths. She embodies cunning and deceit, playing quite a variety of roles: from treacherous scoundrels (in most Russian fairy tales) to smart advisers (as in Boris Shergin’s fairy tale “Poiga and the Fox”). Both in the east and in the west, legends about werewolf foxes are widespread, capable of turning into seductive women, giving magical gifts, and often destroying people who trust them. In Japanese mythology, werefoxes (kitsune) have enormous knowledge and master magic. Kitsune later became popular in literature, cinema and video games. Similar spirits also appear in Chinese and Korean myths. In Mesopotamian mythology, the fox is a sacred animal; it serves the goddess Ki as a messenger. In Finland, the fox is a symbol of cunning, but not evil.
This beauty has taken its place in heraldry; it is a symbol of insight, cunning, and foresight.
The fox is of great economic importance as a valuable fur-bearing animal, while it destroys many rodents and insects - grain consumers, is an object of sport hunting and serves as a wonderful decoration of nature. Of course, the fox is a predator and destroys a certain amount of game, but the damage that foxes cause to commercial game and poultry is much less than the benefit they bring by protecting our fields from rodents. However, in Western European countries, the fox is considered a harmful predator subject to year-round extermination. And this is quite justified, since the animals there have fur of little value, and sporting farms breed a lot of game birds that suffer from foxes.
Foxes living near hiking trails, boarding houses, and in places where hunting is prohibited quickly get used to the presence of humans and even begin begging. However, wild foxes are one of the carriers of the rabies virus, so some caution must be observed.
Foxes are bred in captivity for their fur. At the end of the 19th century, a breed of silver-black (silver-brown) foxes was artificially bred. Then, thanks to selection, the quality of fur of this breed was significantly improved (compared to the wild type), and a number of other color variations were developed based on it: platinum, Bakurian, Dakota and others.
Distribution and habitats
The range of the common fox is one of the largest among all mammals. It covers almost the entire non-tropical part of the northern hemisphere - Eurasia (except for the extreme southeast), North America (except for the Mexican Highlands), and the extreme north of Africa.
In this vast territory, the animal inhabits almost all natural zones - forests of various types, tundra, steppe, arid regions, and highlands. She lives both at the “Pole of Cold” in Yakutia and in the hot Arabian deserts. There are no foxes only in the Arctic deserts of the Far North, where its niche is occupied by the arctic fox.
This “ubiquitous” animal prefers open and lightly overgrown areas with copses, ravines and ravines. The living conditions for it are optimal in the forest-steppe and steppe - here the fox is found everywhere. In vast forest areas, especially where the winter is long and snowy, it is less common. In areas with a dry climate, the fox can often be found along dry ancient river beds covered with tugai thickets. In many places she prefers to settle next to a person. In the vicinity of large cities, it constantly stays close to landfills, which serve as sources of food.
Appearance and morphology
The fox is a very beautiful, slender animal with a characteristic long, pointed muzzle. The coloring and size of these animals are characterized by great geographical variability - more than 25 subspecies are known. In general, to the north of the range, foxes become larger and brighter, to the south - smaller and duller in color. Males have a body length of 50–90 cm, shoulder height of 35–50 cm, weight from 2.5 to 10 kg, females are slightly smaller. In winter, because of the lush fur, the fox looks squat, with a massive body, in summer - lean, tall-legged. The fur is thick, quite short and coarse in summer, lush and soft in winter.
The forest fox is called “firefox” for its bright coloring: it is reddish-red on top, the throat and chest are white, the back of the ears and the front of the legs are black, the tail is red with a white tip. In northern regions with harsh climatic conditions, foxes with a predominance of black pigment - melanin - are often found in their fur. “Sivodushki” are foxes with a gray-brown back, red-yellow sides and a dark brown belly; “crossed” - even darker animals in which the dark color of the paws is fused with a wide “belt” on the back; “Silver foxes” - animals with black-brown or black skin.
The sense organs of a fox are similar to other canids. She has excellent hearing - she can hear the squeak of a mouse a hundred meters away. Vision is much weaker, the fox mainly reacts to moving objects, but cannot distinguish a calmly standing person, sometimes even 10 steps away. At the same time, this predator has an excellent visual memory, noticing the slightest changes in the situation near the hole. A fox's sense of smell is somewhat worse than that of a dog.
Nutrition and feeding behavior
The fox, although it belongs to typical predators, feeds on a wide variety of foods. Among the food it eats there are more than 300 species of animals and several dozen species of plants. Everywhere, the basis of its diet consists of rodents, primarily voles. The fox eats hares and birds, mainly small passerines, chickens, and waterfowl. In the Far East, foxes living on the islands, like the arctic fox, subsist mainly on sea emissions, and during the spawning run of red fish they also eat this. In the southern arid regions, a significant proportion of the diet consists of reptiles - lizards and non-venomous snakes. During the mass flight of locusts, the predator becomes insectivorous. With a lack of natural animal food, the fox systematically attacks poultry. At the end of summer - autumn, she often visits melon fields and vineyards, picking up fallen apples, pears, cherry plums, and cherries.
While hunting for small rodents - "mousing" - the fox looks very funny. You can see her doing this activity most often in winter, on a snow-covered field. Getting excited, she seems to be dancing in one place, bouncing on her hind legs and hitting the ground with force with her front legs. In this way, the predator drives frightened rodents out of their holes to the surface, where it catches them. At the same time, she sometimes gets so carried away that she lets you get very close to her. The fox eats the caught small thing entirely, without stopping. It drags larger prey aside, partially eats it, and buries the remains in the ground. If you're lucky, several foxes will gather around the carrion or carcass of a large ungulate killed by wolves. Here they live for several days. The fox, unlike the wolf, never eats to capacity; usually 300–350 grams of meat per day is enough for her. However, with an abundance of mouse-like rodents, the predator does not stop hunting for them even after satiation: it does not eat them after catching them, but having caught them, it plays like a cat.
Vocalization
Lifestyle and behavior
The fox is a fairly sedentary animal, however, protecting the territory is apparently not typical for it, and the hunting areas of different animals overlap. In its area, the fox actively uses scent marks, leaving the secretion of the peri-tail glands on the branches and trunks of young trees. The animal places such marks in many places in its hunting area, which is up to 10–15 km in diameter. The fox knows its area very well and systematically examines it. In winter, its daily movement averages 8–12 km. This distance includes up to 4 temporary beds where she rests, and about 50 places where she stops and sits down.
The fox deftly climbs steep slopes and swims well. Can climb trees if they are inclined or branch low above the ground. There is a known case when a fox hid from dogs in a bird’s nest located 10 meters above the ground.
Regular migrations are also unusual for the fox, unlike the arctic fox. They are observed only in the tundra, desert and mountains. For example, one of the foxes tagged in the Malozemelskaya tundra was caught 600 km to the southwest. Young dispersing females, leaving the parental burrow, go to a distance of up to 10–15 km. Male fox cubs are prone to longer journeys, moving 30–40 km or more from the parental burrow.
Foxes often move at a small trot, with their hind paws exactly matching the tracks of their front paws and creating a covered trail - the animal seems to be following a thread. The prints stretch in an even chain, only slightly shifting the centers of the right prints to the right of the center line, and the centers of the left ones to the left. The length of steps is 20–40 cm, most often about 30 cm. With this gait, the tracks of foxes are unmistakably different from the tracks of dogs, which never move so smoothly.
Foxes are active mainly at dawn and dusk, but in those places where they are not pursued, they hunt at different times of the day, and do not show any concern at the sight of people. In other cases, the fox is distinguished by extreme caution and an amazing ability, when escaping from pursuit, to confuse its tracks and resort to all sorts of tricks to deceive the dogs.
Reproduction and raising offspring
The fox begins breeding in the middle - end of winter: in the south it is December, in the north it is February. At this time, the animals are very excited and hardly rest; their “weddings” can be seen in broad daylight. It happens that one female is pursued by 5-6 males, who yelp and fight among themselves.
After the end of the mating season, the animals disperse and begin to live independently. However, shortly before the birth of the babies, the males again begin to enthusiastically pursue the females and again fight among themselves. It has been noted that it is not always their real father who becomes the teacher of fox cubs. Professor P. A. Manteuffel, who observed a lot of foxes in nature, in the zoo and on fur farms, believed that a substance appears in the urine of pregnant foxes, which serves as a causative agent of the paternal instinct in males. This property is very useful for the survival of the species, as it provides fox cubs with the attention and care of both parents.
Before giving birth, the expectant mother cleans the hole and spends most of her time in it. When the fox cubs are born, she practically stops leaving the hole, and the fox has to hunt a lot to feed both herself and her. The male leaves the prey at the entrance to the hole, and he is not allowed near the cubs.
From 2 to 12 babies (4–6 on average) are born in the spring blind, with closed ears. The body is covered with a short baby fluff of a dark brown color, but the tip of the tail is already white. They grow and develop quickly: at two to three weeks of age, their eyes and ears open, and teeth begin to erupt. The cubs begin to crawl out of the hole, try the “adult” food, and the mother also has to hunt to feed the offspring.
Like wolves, foxes that have small cubs do not hunt near the burrow. There are cases when huntsmen systematically observed a brood of grouse not far from a fox hole, and the birds grew up safely and took wing. Shelduck ducks living in the steppe zone sometimes successfully hatch their chicks not just nearby, but in the branches of residential fox burrows.
The fox cubs grow, and at the age of a month they already meet their parents at the entrance to the hole, returning from hunting, and play for a long time. Milk feeding lasts 6–7 weeks, at which time the babies begin to try to hunt on their own. From the age of two months, puppies are already weaned from the “home”, moving further and further, showing more and more independence. However, their parents continue to feed them until the end of summer, and the family sticks to their native hole. In the fall, young animals often begin to live independently, but it happens that the entire family remains in the brood hole for the winter.
Some young females begin to reproduce as early as the next year and, in any case, reach sexual maturity by the age of two; males have offspring 1–2 years later.
Lifespan
In captivity, life expectancy is up to 25 years; in the wild, only a few animals live to be 8–10 years old.
Keeping animals at the Moscow Zoo
The foxes live on the Old Zoo grounds in a large enclosure next to the Cat Row, opposite the red wolves. As in nature, animals are more often active in the morning and evening hours, and during the day they sleep, curled up, either in houses or on them. When they are given food, they eat some of it and try to hide the rest. Since there are two foxes, each is afraid that its neighbor will find its hiding place and hides the food many times. Foxes live peacefully among themselves, and if they don’t like something in their partner’s behavior, they urge him to maintain distance with a very characteristic pose. The animal slightly lowers its head, presses its ears, opens its mouth and makes a peculiar sound - something between a whine and a cough. Thus, conflicts, if they occur, are resolved peacefully.
One of the foxes is very shy and rarely leaves the house during the day. The other one is not afraid of people, it can come close to the bars, but do not try to pet it or feed it - it might bite.
You can also see a fox in one of the enclosures at the “Fauna of Russia” exhibition. There are also foxes in the visiting section of the zoo. These animals go to lectures in schools, kindergartens, museums, and participate in holidays. These animals are completely tame. But in order for them to become like this, the cubs must fall into the hands of a trainer when they are very young and grow up in constant contact with people. People need to put in a lot of patience so that the animals, when they become adults, have unlimited trust in their “big brothers.”
In the zoo, foxes live for a long time, delighting you with their magnificent fur coats in winter, and surprising you with their long thin legs and large ears in summer. Their diet is very diverse: from fruits and vegetables to fish and meat.