Chesapeake Bay Program - Red Fox

<body> <p>The red fox, <i>Vulpes vulpes</i>, belongs to the family Canidae, which includes the domestic dog, the gray wolf, the coyote and other fox species. Thirty-four species of canids exist worldwide, nine of them in North America. The red fox-called renard in France, fuchs in Germany and zorro in Spain-is widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the arctic circle to north Africa, into Central America and across the Asiatic steppes. During the mid-18th century the red fox was introduced to this country from England-particularly to the states of New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia-by landowners intent on hunting with hounds. </p> <p>The red fox's adaptability to many habitats-from tundra to city streets-allowed it to flourish in this country for a period, until unregulated trapping and hunting brought about heavy mortality. The collapse of the fur industry and preventive measures taken by poultry farmers curtailed some losses and allowed the species to recover. It's thought that the red fox may be extending its range in North America; however, a concomitant extension of the coyote's range may inhibit its expansion. </p> <table border="0" align="right" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" width="184"> <tr> <td width="176"><img src="../images/com-redfox.jpg" alt="Red Fox" width="233" height="186" border="0" align="left" usemap="#Map"></td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td><em><font size="-1">Courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service MNWR photo: Maeve Taylor </font></em></td> </tr> </table> <p>Like other North American canids the red fox has a doglike frame-a slender body and legs and slim muzzle, upright triangular ears and full tail, usually tipped in white. While its cousins the wolf and dog are social, the red fox tends to be more solitary, cautious and tense, and like its 'cunning' namesake in literature apparently is capable of learning from experience.</p> <p>The red fox is the largest species in the genus Vulpes. </p> <ul> <li>Its fur ranges in color from bright red or rust to reddish brown, with black-tipped ears and black fur on the lower part of the legs. </li> <li>At maturity the fox may weigh as much as 15 pounds and as little as 6 pounds, and extend to 43 inches in length. </li> <li>Its habit is nocturnal or crepuscular, and it may also hunt during sunless days. </li> <li>The fox is a fast runner, moving at a top speed of around 48 km per hour, and leaping more than 2 meters when necessary. </li> <li>Its diet varies seasonally, in summer consisting of plants and fruits, including corn, acrons, grasses, apples, berries or other fruit, and in winter of small mammals such as mice, rabbits and squirrels; birds; and insects and worms. Foxes also eat carrion. </li> <li>The fox's hunting habits rely on its sensitivity to low-frequency sounds, which permit it to hear noises made by smaller mammals underground, such as digging, chewing and rustling. Once it detects its prey, the fox digs rapidly in the soil to recover it, but it will also stalk a rabbit or other small mammal with catlike movements. </li> <li>In hunting mice, the fox stands very still, then leaps high and brings its forepaws down hard to pin it to the ground. </li> </ul> <h4>Life Cycle</h4> <ul> <li>The fox's breeding period varies according to latitude and habitat, but usually begins in late winter or early spring, sometimes as early as January.</li> <li>Adults of both sexes remain solitary until ready to breed, when they begin a pattern of nocturnal barking. </li> <li>Females have a single estrous every year, lasting only 2 to 4 days, and are thought to mate for life.</li> <li>Females establish their maternity den after mating, sometimes taking over the dens of other mammals, such as rabbits, or digging a large den for the birth and nurturing of the young. She may use the same den in successive generations. Sometimes pathways along the fox's home range connect the den with rest or food storage areas. Gestation lasts approximately 53 days, after which an average of 4 to 6 pups (sometimes up to 10) are born.</li> <li>At birth the pups tail tips are white. The mother nurses her young at first, weans them after 56 to 70 days, and later feeds her pups with regurgitated meat; much later, she'll bring live prey to the den for the kits to practice killing.</li> <li>Kits play above ground after about one month, consuming whatever food the parents and other 'helper' foxes procure. Helpers may include females from an earlier litter. Eventually kits hunt with their parents.</li> <li>Young leave the family society at about 7 months old. Young males may travel as far as 150 miles from the natal den; however, females remain closer. Adults also disperse, hunting alone again until the next mating season.</li> <li>Adults may reach the age of 12 in captivity, but in the wild, life expectancy drops to about 3 years.</li> </ul> </body>