Red fox (Vulpes vulpes)

The fox's distinctive red-brown fur and its long bushy tail are a familiar sight in towns and in the countryside all over Britain. These adaptable mammals have successfully established themselves in most habitat types thanks to their opportunistic, unfussy nature and their very varied diet. Foxes are very social animals and each group, which includes a dog fox, a vixen and cubs in the spring, occupies a territory, which they mark with their strong smelling urine and faeces.

They have acute hearing and often listen for their prey, before pouncing on the source of the noise! They sometimes make their homes, called earths, in old badger setts, hollow trees or under garden sheds. Foxes are not wasteful and dig small holes in the ground to bury any surplus food to eat later.

Breeding:

Foxes mate in December & January and then, between March & May, the females give birth to a litter of 4–5 blind and deaf cubs, covered in dark grey fur. At first their mother keeps them warm and protects them from danger, whilst the dog fox brings back food for his family. They are independent by the autumn and some move away from their parents, but others may remain to help rear the next litter of cubs.

Diet:

Almost anything from rabbits, field voles, berries to earthworms, insects and fruits. In towns, they scavenge food from rubbish bins, gardens and bird tables.

Habitat:

Present in virtually every habitat including woodland, scrubland and mountains as well as in towns and especially residential suburbs and gardens.

Predators & threats:

Adult foxes have few natural predators, but cubs can be taken by badgers or dogs. Many are killed on the roads, hunted and poisoned but despite this, their numbers, on the whole, seem to be increasing.

Status & distribution:

Foxes are common and widely distributed in Britain and Ireland but are absent from many Scottish islands, except the Isle of Skye.

Did you know?...

At least 28 different fox calls have been identified but it is difficult to determine what each one means. A commonly heard call is the loud, spine-chilling cry that foxes often make during the mating season.