Fox

Foxes are omnivorous small to medium-sized mammals that belong to many genera in the Canidae family. Their skull is flattened, their ears are upright triangular, their snout is pointed and slightly upturned, and their tail is long and bushy.

Except for Antarctica, foxes can be found on every continent. The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is the most common and widespread species of fox animal, with about 47 recognised subspecies. The monophyletic true foxes party of the genus Vulpes includes twelve species. About another 25 living or extinct species are referred to as foxes. These foxes belong to the paraphyletic group of South American foxes, or the outlying group, which includes the bat-eared fox, grey fox, and island fox.

Male foxes are referred to as tods or dogs, female foxes are referred to as vixen animals, and young cubs as kits.

Scientific Classification of Fox

• Fox belongs to the kingdom Animalia.

• The phylum of a fox is Chordata.

• Fox animals belong to the class Mammalia.

• Their order is Carnivora and the suborder is Caniformia.

• Fox belongs to the family Canidae.

• The scientific name of the most common fox species is Vulpes vulpes which are commonly known as red fox.

Morphology and Habitat about Fox

In this section, we will discuss in detail the fox habitat and its morphology.

• Foxes are smaller than other members of the Canidae family, such as wolves and jackals, but they can be larger than other members of the family, such as raccoon dogs.

• Males of the largest species, the red fox, weigh between 4.1 and 8.7 kg on average, while males of the smallest species, the fennec fox, weigh only 0.7 to 1.6 kg.

• A triangular face, pointed ears, an elongated rostrum, and a bushy tail are typical fox characteristics.

• They walk on their toes because they are digitigrades. Foxes, unlike other members of the Canidae family, have claws that can be partially retracted.

• Fur colour, weight, and density vary between fox species. The colours of the coats vary from pearly white to black-and-white to black with white or grey flecks on the underside.

• The colour and texture of a fox's coat will change with the season’s fox pelts are richer and denser in the winter and lighter in the summer. Foxes moult once a year in April to shed their thick winter coat. The procedure starts at the feet and progresses up the legs and back. The colour of a coat can also change as they get older.

• A fox's average lifespan in the wild is one to three years, but some individuals can live up to ten years. Foxes, unlike many other canids, do not necessarily pack animals. They usually live in small family groups, although some species, such as Arctic foxes, are known to live alone.

• Foxes are omnivores that eat a variety of invertebrates, including insects, as well as small vertebrates including reptiles and birds. They can also consume eggs and plants. While many predators are generalists, others, including the crab-eating fox, have more specialised diets. The majority of fox species eat about 1 kg of food each day.

• Foxes use a specific pouncing strategy while hunting, in which they crouch down to blend in with the ground, then jump up with great force and land on top of their chosen prey with their hind legs. They will then grab the prey's neck with their prominent canine teeth and shake it until it is dead or easily disembowelled.

Types of Foxes

In this section, we will discuss fox information about their types and habitat.

Red Fox (Vulpes Vulpes)

• The red fox is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely spread members of the order Carnivora, with populations spanning most of North America, Europe, Asia, and parts of North Africa.

• During the Middle Villafranchian period, the red fox evolved from smaller ancestors from Eurasia and colonised North America shortly after the Wisconsin glaciation. The red fox represents a more progressive type of carnivory among true foxes.

• Apart from its size, the red fox stands out among fox species for its ability to rapidly adapt to new environments.

• There are currently 45 subspecies of red fox, which are classified into two groups: large northern foxes and small, basal southern grey desert foxes of Asia and North Africa.

• Red foxes are commonly found in pairs or small groups of families, such as a mated pair and they are young, or a male with many females who are related to him.

• Small rodents are the primary prey of this species, but they may also prey on rabbits, game birds, fish, invertebrates, and young ungulates. Fruit and vegetable matter are sometimes consumed.

• The species has a long history of human interaction, having been hunted as a pest and furbearer for centuries, as well as being depicted in human folklore and mythology. They are also wild fox animals.

• The red fox animal is one of the most common fur-bearing animals harvested for the fur trade due to its widespread distribution and large population.

• While it is too small to pose a danger to humans, it has reaped the benefits of human presence and has successfully colonised many suburban and urban areas.

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Fennec Fox (Vulpes Zerda)

• Fennec foxes are small crepuscular foxes that are native to the Sahara Desert and the Sinai Peninsula.

• Its most distinguishing characteristic is its extraordinarily large ears, which aid in heat dissipation.

• The fennec is the tiniest member of the canid family. Its coat, ears, and kidney functions have adapted to the high temperatures and lack of water in the desert climate. Its hearing is also sensitive enough to detect prey moving underground.

• Insects, small mammals, and birds are their primary sources of food.

• In captivity, the fennec can live up to 14 years, and in the wild, it can live up to 10 years.

• The Verreaux's eagle-owl, jackals, and other large mammals are its main predators.

• For habitation and defence, fennec families dig burrows in the sand that are adjacent to the burrows of other families.

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Arctic Fox (Vulpes Lagopus)

• The Arctic fox, also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox, is a small fox native to the Northern Hemisphere's Arctic regions and found in the Arctic tundra biome.

• It has adapted well to life in cold climates and is best known for its dense, warm fur that often serves as camouflage.

• It has a really long and fluffy tail. Most animals in the wild do not live beyond their first year, but some are rare and live for up to 11 years.

• It has a body length ranging from 46 to 68 cm and a typically rounded body form to prevent body heat from escaping.

• Lemmings, voles, ringed seal pups, fish, waterfowl, and seabirds are among the small animals that the Arctic fox preys on. Carrion, fruit, seaweed, insects, and other small invertebrates are also eaten.

• During the breeding season, Arctic foxes form monogamous pairs and remain together to raise their young in complex underground dens.

• Golden eagles, polar bears, wolverines, red foxes, wolves, and grizzly bears are natural predators of the Arctic fox.

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Gray Fox (Urocyon Cinereoargenteus)

• The grey fox is an omnivorous animal belonging to the Canidae family that can be found in North and Central America.

• The only surviving members of the genus Urocyon, which is genetically ancestral to all other living canids, are this species and its only congener, the diminutive island fox of the California Channel Islands.

• Though the red fox was once the most common in the eastern United States, and it still is, human progress and deforestation have enabled it to become more dominant.

• The grey fox is now a dominant species in the Pacific States. It is the only canid in the United States that can climb trees. Cinereoargenteus is its genus, which means "ashen silver."

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Tibetan Fox (Vulpes Ferrilata)

• The Tibetan fox, also known as the Tibetan sand fox, is a true fox species found only in Tibet, Ladakh, Nepal, China, Sikkim, and Bhutan.

• With a soft, dense coat, a conspicuously narrow muzzle, and a bushy tail, the Tibetan fox is small and compact. It has a rufous muzzle, crown, neck, back, and lower legs, while its cheeks, flanks, upper legs, and rumps are grey.

• Plateau pikas are the Tibetan fox's primary prey, followed by rats, marmots, woolly hares, and lizards. It also feeds on Tibetan antelopes, musk deer, blue sheep, and livestock carcasses.

• Since their main prey, pikas, are diurnal, Tibetan foxes are mainly solitary, daytime hunters.

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Crab-Eating Fox (Cerdocyon Thous)

• The crab-eating fox, also known as the forest fox, wood fox, bush dog, or maikong, is an extant medium-sized canid that first appeared during the Pliocene period in central South America.

• From Colombia and southern Venezuela in the north to Paraguay, Uruguay, and northern Argentina in the south, the crab-eating fox can be found in savannas, woodlands, subtropical forests, prickly, shrubby thickets, and tropical savannas such as the caatinga, plains, and campo.

• The crab-eating fox is mostly greyish-brown in colour, with reddish-brown patches on the face and legs, as well as black-tipped ears and tail. It has short, sturdy legs and a long, bushy tail.

• During the rainy season, the crab-eating fox hunts for crabs on muddy floodplains, earning it the name "crab-eating fox." When insects or meat from rodents and birds are available, it is an opportunist and omnivore. Turtle eggs, tortoises, berries, eggs, crustaceans, spiders, lizards, and carrion are among the other foods readily eaten. The crab-eating fox helps to keep rodents and dangerous insects at bay.

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Bat-Eared Fox (Otocyon Megalotis)

• The bat-eared fox is an African fox species that live in the savanna. It is the only living member of the Otocyon genus and is considered a basal canid animal.

• It gets its name from its big ears, which help regulate body temperature. The Egyptian slit-faced bat, which is abundant in the sub-region and has very large ears, may be referred to in its colloquial name.

• Bat-eared foxes have evolved to live in arid or semi-arid climates. Short grasslands, as well as the more arid regions of the savannas, forest edges, and open acacia woodlands, are typical habitats.

• The only genuinely insectivorous canid, bat-eared foxes have a strong preference for harvester termites, which can make up 80–90% of their diet.

• Other termite species, as well as other arthropods such as ants, bugs, crickets, grasshoppers, millipedes, moths, scorpions, spiders, and, on rare occasions, birds, small mammals, reptiles, and fungi, are eaten. 

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Kit Fox (Vulpes Macrotis)

• The kit fox is a fox species found in western North America's arid and semi-arid areas, mainly in the Southwestern United States and northern and central Mexico.

• These foxes are the tiniest of the three Vulpes species found in North America, and they are among the tiniest vulpines on the planet. Because of its big ears, it has been compared to the Fennec fox in North America.

• The coat's colour and texture differ depending on where you live. The dorsal colour is generally grizzled or yellowish-grey. Guard hairs with black tips or two black bands separated by a white band are responsible for the grizzled look.

• Kit foxes are often nocturnal and sometimes crepuscular, and they shelter in underground dens during the day to avoid heat stress. Kit foxes forage on their own much of the time. Kit foxes are not overly territorial, preferring to live in pairs or small family groups.

• Kit foxes are opportunistic omnivores and scavengers that are mainly carnivorous and may be regulated by prey abundance. Merriam's kangaroo rat is its main prey in the California deserts. Lagomorphs, rodents, and insects are other important prey animals. Birds, reptiles, carrion, fish, and, on rare occasions, plant material such as tomatoes, cactus fruits, and other fruits are consumed by kit foxes.

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Swift Fox (Vulpes Velox)

• The swift fox is a small light orange-tan fox that can be found in the western grasslands of North America, such as Montana, Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, and is around the size of a domestic cat. It can also be found in Canada's southern Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, where it was once extinct.

• It is closely related to the kit fox, and the two species are often referred to as subspecies of Vulpes velox due to the natural occurrence of hybrids between the two species where their ranges overlap.

• The swift fox prefers short-grass prairies and deserts to call home. Predator control programmes nearly drove it extinct in the 1930s, but it was successfully reintroduced later.

• The swift fox has a dark greyish tan coat with a yellowish-tan colouration on the sides and legs. The colour of the throat, shoulders, and belly ranges from pale yellow to white. It has black spots on its muzzle and a black-tipped tail. It has distinctly big ears.

• The swift fox, like most foxes, is an omnivore. Animals such as rabbits, rats, ground squirrels, birds, insects, and lizards are common. Grasses and fruits make up the rest of its diet. The swift fox, like any other effective forager, takes advantage of seasonal foods. Adults consume a lot of insects in the summer, such as beetles and grasshoppers, and their young are fed larger prey items.

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Pampas Fox (Lycalopex Gymnocercus)

• The Pampas fox, also known as the grey Pampean fox, Pampas zorro, Azara's fox, or Azara's zorro, is a medium-sized zorro or false fox that is native to the Pampas region of South America.

• Northern and central Argentina, Uruguay, eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, and southern Brazil are all home to the Pampas fox. It prefers open pampas habitats, which are mostly close to agricultural land, but it also inhabits montane or Chaco woodland, dry scrubland, and wetland habitats.

• The Pampas foxes are usually solitary, but during the breeding season, they form monogamous pairs to raise their young. They are mostly nocturnal, emerging at night, but they can also be seen during the day. They make their homes in caves, hollow trees, and viscacha or armadillos burrows, among other places.

• Pampas foxes eat a more diverse and opportunistic diet than most other canids, and they are more omnivorous than most other canids. Birds, rats, hares, fruit, carrion, and insects are their main food, but they also consume lizards, armadillos, snails, and other invertebrates, lambs, and ground-nesting bird eggs.

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Interesting Fox Information

• The fox, like the cat, is most involved after the sunsets. It has vertically focused pupils, which allow it to see in low light. It even stalks and pounces on its prey in the same way as a cat does. On its tongue, the fox has sensitive whiskers and spines. It stands on its paws, which explains its graceful, cat-like gait. In addition, foxes are the only dog species that can climb trees. Claws on grey foxes enable them to quickly ascend and descend vertical trees. Some foxes, like cats, even sleep in trees.

• The fox uses the earth's magnetic field to hunt, just like a guided missile. The earth's magnetic field appears to the fox as a ring of shadow around its eyes that darkens as it moves towards magnetic north. It's time to pounce when the shadow and the sound the prey makes match up.

• The smallest fox just weighs 3 pounds. The fennec fox is around the size of a cat, with elongated ears and a creamy coat. It lives in the Sahara Desert and sleeps during the day to avoid the scorching sun. The ears not only help it hear prey, but they also help the fox stay cool by radiating body heat. The fox's feet are fur-covered so it can walk on hot sand like it's wearing snowshoes.

• Foxes are considered to be curious and sweet. They, like cats and dogs, play with each other as well as with other species. They adore balls and will snatch them from yards and golf courses.

• The arctic fox, which lives in the far north of the hemisphere, is more resistant to cold than other species on the planet. It doesn't get cold until it reaches –70°C (-94°F). Its white coat also serves as a deterrent to predators. If the seasons change, the fox's coat changes as well, becoming brown or grey to fit in with the tundra's rocks and dirt.

Conclusion

Foxes are small to medium-sized bushy-tailed dogs with long hair, pointed ears, and a short snout that belong to the Canidae dog family. The red fox is widely regarded as an emblem of animal cunning and is the subject of much folklore. Except for humans, the red fox has the highest natural range of any land mammal. For their opportunistic attacks on poultry and other small livestock, foxes are often regarded as pests or nuisance animals. Human attacks by foxes are uncommon. Many foxes adapt well to human conditions, and some species are known as resident urban carnivores because they can maintain populations entirely within city limits.