Red fox | Wildlife Online (original) (raw)

Latin name

Vulpes vulpes

Class

Mammals

Group

Foxes

The red fox has been entwined with human history for millennia – woven into our farming, our forestry, and our folklore. To some, it's nothing more than vermin: a threat to game and livestock, to be eliminated without sentiment. To others, it's one of Britain's most captivating native creatures; one of the few mammals not merely surviving but thriving in an increasingly developed and polluted world.

Beyond the passions it provokes, the fox plays a vital role in our terrestrial ecosystems; one we are only beginning to fully appreciate. And yet it endures, defiant in the face of relentless human persecution. The red fox's turbulent relationship with mankind shows no sign of resolution. Its survival into the next millennium lies, as it always has, in the hands of those who own the land; and who must choose what to do with what lives on it.

That which follows is a reasonably comprehensive overview of red fox evolution, taxonomy, biology, ecology and history, although there is much more to the natural history of these canids than can be covered here and new observations are being made all the time. Certain aspects of the fox's natural history that warrant more detailed discussion have been split from the main overview into their own Q/A.

A Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) lying in the grass. - Credit: Marc Baldwin

The Red fox at a glance

Size: The red fox has a head-and-body length of 60-90 cm (2-3 ft), with the tail -- known as the brush -- adding a further 30-55 cm. In Britain, adult males average around 6.5 kg (14 lb) and females around 5.5 kg (12 lb), though weight varies considerably with age, season, and habitat. Across the species' global range, adults typically fall between 3-16 kg (6.6-35 lbs). The largest confirmed specimen was a male shot on a Scottish farm in 2012, weighing 17.2 kg (38 lb 1 oz) and measuring 145 cm (4 ft 9 in) from nose to tail tip; though unverified reports of animals exceeding 20 kg (44 lb) exist.

Appearance: The red fox is a archetypal small canid: slender-bodied, long-legged, with erect, prominent ears and a narrow muzzle tapering from yellow-hazel eyes with distinctive, cat-like vertical pupils. The tail (brush) is long and full, typically carried horizontally. The forefeet have five toes; the hind feet four. The canine teeth are sharply pointed and prominent. Coat colour is highly variable, ranging from yellow-red through to black, known as the silver phase. The chin, underbelly, and tail tip (the tag) are typically white, while the muzzle, backs of the ears, and lower legs (the socks) are sooty black. Four colour phases occur in the wild: Red, Cross, Silver, and White, each genetically inherited. Selective breeding on fur farms has produced many additional phases, though these are rarely if ever seen in wild populations.

Distribution: The red fox is found across most of Europe, the UK, North Africa, and large parts of Asia, including China and northern India. In North America it ranges from the United States into Canada and north as far as some Arctic islands. It was introduced to Australia in the mid-1800s for sport hunting and has since established itself widely there. Within Britain, there are anecdotal reports suggesting that distribution may be shifting in some areas, possibly in response to intense persecution by landowners – though this remains to be systematically studied.

Habitat: The red fox is one of the most adaptable mammals on Earth, at home in an exceptionally wide range of environments from ancient woodland, farmland, heathland, and Arctic tundra to some of the world's most densely populated cities. They appear to thrive particularly in "edge" habitats, such as pastoral farmland, where open ground and cover exist in close proximity. Their dietary flexibility and resilience allow them to persist from sea level to high mountain ranges, making them one of the most widely distributed land carnivores on the planet.

Longevity: Most red foxes live for just two to three years, particularly in urban environments where road traffic and human pressure take a heavy toll. In the wild more broadly, eight years is generally considered the& upper limit, though a small number of individuals have been recorded reaching their mid-teens. The oldest known captive fox lived to nearly 24 years.

Sexing: The red fox shows relatively little sexual dimorphism, meaning the sexes (particularly younger animals) can be difficult to tell apart. Males are generally larger, with broader, more domed heads and longer, narrower snouts – though this is most pronounced in older individuals, and some females carry similarly broad faces. Battle-scarred animals are more likely to be males, as fights between rival dogs are common. During the winter breeding season, the male's cream-coloured scrotum becomes visible and can assist identification. Nursing females are often recognisable in spring and early summer by bare skin and enlarged teats. Males are known as dogs, females as vixens, and the young as cubs in Britain and Europe, kits in North America, and pups in parts of Asia.

Activity: Contrary to popular belief, foxes are active at all hours, and sightings during the day are neither unusual nor cause for concern – particularly in late winter and early summer. They are, nonetheless, predominantly crepuscular and nocturnal, with the majority of activity taking place between dusk and dawn. Unlike humans, who tend to consolidate sleep into a single overnight period, foxes move through the day in alternating bouts of activity and rest. Tracking data from urban areas suggest that in winter and spring, nights are typically divided into several active periods of around 2 to 2.5 hours, interspersed with similar periods of rest. Comparable data for rural foxes are limited, but one Swiss study found that inactive periods were usually brief (under fifteen minutes) with rest periods of an hour or more being uncommon. In general, longer active periods tend to be followed by longer rest, though there is considerable individual variation. There's also some evidence that foxes become increasingly nocturnal in areas where persecution is intense.

Dens: Dens -- known as earths in Britain -- are used primarily during the cub-rearing season, though they may also provide shelter during severe weather or refuge from mounted hunts. In the northern hemisphere, vixens identify or excavate an earth in February, gradually confining themselves to it in the days immediately before giving birth. Outside the cubbing season, foxes typically rest above ground, in dense vegetation, or in favoured sunny spots such as shed roofs or low branches. A well-established earth will usually have more than one entrance, providing an escape route if needed, and several dens may exist within a single territory.

Territory & Home Range: Range size is resource-dependent and so varies considerably by habitat. Rural foxes typically hold territories of 200-600 ha (500-1,500 acres), with this expanding to around 4,000 ha (10,000 acres) in poor habitat, such as the Scottish Highlands. Urban foxes, by contrast, tend to forage over much smaller areas – studies from several European cities suggest home ranges of 40-90 ha (100-200 acres). A territory is usually structured in two tiers: a larger home range encompassing a smaller, exclusive core area. Home ranges may overlap with those of neighbouring foxes, while core areas are defended aggressively against intruders. Territories are not fixed; they may split, merge, or shift in response to changes in resource availability or the loss of a neighbouring animal.

Diet: Foxes are highly opportunistic, with a broad and flexible diet that spans mammals up to the size of small deer, birds and their eggs, reptiles, insects and other invertebrates (notably larvae and worms), fish, amphibians, and a range of fruits and vegetables. In urban areas they will readily exploit human food sources, whether left out deliberately, scavenged from rubbish, or captured from insecure livestock housing.

Reproduction: Foxes are short-day breeders, their mating season running from late December to early February in the northern hemisphere – peak activity falling in late December and January. During oestrus, the male follows the female closely and mates with her repeatedly; copulation ends with a temporary "tie", during which the pair stand back-to-back. Foxes are generally considered monogamous, though studies in Bristol have documented multiple paternity, with males mating across several vixens and vice versa. Where daughters remain within a territory, breeding is typically restricted to the dominant vixen. Cubs are born in March and April -- peaking around mid-March -- after a gestation of approximately 7.5 weeks, though births as early as late January and as late as early May have been recorded. Litters average four to six cubs. Born with eyes and ears sealed, and weighing just 50-150 g (1.8-5.3 oz), newborns are entirely dependent on the vixen for warmth, and she will confine herself to the earth for several days after birth, leaving only briefly thereafter. Eyes and ears open at around ten to fourteen days; solid food is introduced from three weeks; and cubs emerge from the den in early May at around six weeks old. Weaning is complete by approximately eight weeks, with full independence reached at three to five months. Sexual maturity follows at around ten months.

Behaviour & Sociality: Foxes are most commonly encountered alone or in pairs, though family groups form where resources are sufficient – suburban areas being a prime example. Within such groups, non-breeding adults may assist in raising cubs, helping to guard, feed, and play with the young. Foxes are frequently attracted to gardens where small livestock such as chickens, rabbits, and guinea pigs are kept, and may predate these animals as well as causing broader damage. When confronted with abundant prey that cannot escape, foxes may engage in surplus killing, dispatching multiple individuals in a single encounter. This behaviour has contributed to the popular but misleading notion that foxes kill for fun or sport. In reality, there is considerable evidence -- from both captive and wild populations -- that uneaten prey is routinely cached for later retrieval, a behaviour present from cubhood. Foxes can usually be deterred from specific areas with sufficient effort, though excluding them entirely from a garden is rarely achievable. Vocalisation is most frequent during the winter breeding season but is occasionally heard at other times, particularly during territorial disputes in late summer and autumn. Foxes also communicate through scent and, at close quarters, body language. Indeed, vocalisations are often only fully interpretable alongside the corresponding postural and facial signals. Family units begin to dissolve from September onwards, with males dispersing more readily than females.

Threats: Foxes are hunted for sport and killed as a pest across much of their range, though culling seldom appears to have much lasting impact on overall population levels – with the possible exception of sustained, intensive shooting pressure around game estates in Britain. Road mortality is a significant cause of death, though there is some evidence that urban foxes may develop a degree of road sense over time. Mange has periodically caused severe population crashes in parts of Britain and Europe, with some local populations losing up to 95% of individuals; low-level mange likely persists in many urban areas, with ongoing effects on survival and breeding success. In Britain, adult foxes have few natural enemies – badgers, domestic dogs, other foxes, and golden eagles among them, with the eagle arguably the only true predator in an ecological sense. On the European continent, wolves and particularly lynx pose an additional threat, while in North America the coyote appears to be the fox's most significant predator. Cubs are vulnerable to a wider range of threats, including larger raptors such as golden eagles and eagle owls, and mammalian carnivores including foxes, badgers, wolves, coyotes, and lynx. Infanticide has also been recorded, though its prevalence in wild populations remains unclear.

Bibliography

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The natural history "bible" covering all British mammals with detailed coverage of their biology, behaviour, ecology and taxonomy written by experts in the field and referenced to the primary literature.

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Note: Burrows provides some interesting observations in this book, but frequently arrives at spurious conclusions. As such, this book should be interpreted with caution.