11/16/2010

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Saving Lives with a Little Natural

History

… in this case, the Red Fox

Valerie Ackerman

Virginia State Licensed Rehabilitator

President, Wilderness Wildlife Rehabilitation

Overview

• Classification

• Distribution

• General Description

• Feeding Habits

– Diet and hunting skills

• Behavior

• Life Cycle

– Birth and development

• Mortality

Receiving Calls Related to the Red Fox

• Winning the caller’s confidence

• Scanning the landscape

• Placing the caller’s concerns in perspective

Classification

• Kingdom: Animalia (animals)

• Phylum: Chordata (i.e. has a backbone)

• Class: Mammalia (mammals)

• Order: Carnivora (possesses true canine teeth)

• Family: Canidae (dogs)

• Genus: Vulpes (the Latin word for “fox”)

• Species: vulpes

Vulpes vulpes (red fox)

Distribution

• One of the largest ranges of any land animal. It

exists in:

– Almost all of N. America north of Mexico

– Common throughout Europe and parts of North

Africa

– Most of Asia

– In addition, it has been

introduced to several

Pacific Islands, and to the

continent of Australia in 1845

They are known to live in a wide range of

environments including forest, marshes,

desert shrubland, prairies, and the arctic

tundra, not to mention suburban and urban

environments.

Photo: Rob Lee

11/16/2010

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General Description: Weight ranges from 8 to

17 pounds depending on the region. In higher

latitudes such as Alaska and Canada they tend

to be larger. Very large red fox can weigh up to

31 pounds.

Thesilvercoyote.net Colors: Most common are reddish tone to

dark chestnut with a white chin, white upper

lip, white underside, black ears, black feet and

legs, and black nose. Other various color

phases including silver fox and cross fox

appear in litters of normal reds.

Flicker.com

Eyes: Gold to yellow and have distinctive

vertical/slit pupils, similar to those of

domestic cats

Tail: Red fox has a bushy tail that accounts for one-

third of his body length. It is used for insulation while

sleeping, a tool for communication, balance for

movement, and has a white tip that distinguishes it

from other canids.

Feet: The red fox’s feet are canine though somewhat small. Forepaws have five toes and hind paws have four. Their agility is enhanced by their semi-retractable claws.

Ear: Red foxes have triangular shaped ears that

move continually to improve reception

Red fox employs 42 teeth within in elongated muzzle.

Canines which hold prey, incisors for cutting and

shearing meat, and molars for grinding bones and

vegetable matter.

Kevin Fleming

Diet: Foxes are true omnivores. Their vegetarian side may

include grasses, grains, fungi, berries and fruit. On the

carnivorous side, diet may consist of insects (especially

grasshoppers), rodents (mice, voles), rabbits, birds, eggs,

amphibians and small reptiles, fish, earthworms, carrion, and

more!

Renard

In urban areas, red foxes will also scavenge on

human refuse and will eat from pet food

bowls left outside. An opportunist, red fox diet

tends to vary directly to what’s available.

www.daf.gov.au

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Hunting: Red foxes are solitary hunters. Their acute sense of

hearing allows them to locate small mammals in thick grass,

under growth or deep snow, within a few inches. They will

then launch themselves at a 45 degree angle into the air to

pounce on their prey .

Steve Hinch

Red fox will also stalk prey such as rabbits and squirrels,

keeping hidden until close enough to catch them in a short

dash. However, its strong legs allow it to reach speeds up to

30 mph.

www.hiren.info

Behavior: Although the red fox is primarily described as

crepuscular, it can also be active during the day. This behavior

can be observed while raising their kits and during the cold

winter months.

Red fox generally claims its own territory, pairing up only in

winter and foraging alone in the summer. Red fox may

maintain territories as large as 4-5 square miles, but sightings

of red fox sustaining a family on as little as an acre in urban

areas occur as well.

Furbearergallery.com

Several dens are utilized within these territories. Dens may be

claimed from animals such as woodchucks. Larger dens are

used for winter months and for rearing young. Smaller dens

are used for emergencies and to store excess food. Those

dens are sometimes connected. In addition to an entrance,

their dens will always have an exit.

Wildlifering.com

Dens may be located in various areas, including fields, edge of

forests, deserts, under porches, or old barns, but always

located near a water source.

Jo and Jeff

Foxes mark their territory by recognition posts that are special

smells that come from a scent gland located just above the

fox’s tail. Red fox cannot spray like a skunk and does not use

this secretion as a defense.

Coloradolifestyle.com

Red foxes primarily form monogamous pairs each winter. Both

parents will cooperate to raise a litter of kits each year.

Max Waugh

Socially the fox communicates with body language and a

variety of vocalizations. Noises may vary from a distinctive

three-yip “where are you” call, to a shriek that sounds like a

human scream. They also communicate with scent, marking

food and territorial boundary lines with urine and feces.

Joel Sartore

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Life cycle: Birth and development: Due to its broad

distribution, red fox breeding period varies between

December and March, depending on the location. Females

have an annual estrous period of between one and six days.

Although a female may mate with several males, she will

eventually settle with only one.

David Element

Generally, gestation period varies between 49 to 54 days. After

the kits are born, the mother will stay with them to nurse and

to keep them warm until their eyes open ~ about 10 days.

During this period, the male will bring food to her and leave it

at the front of the den.

Hoffman

At birth, fox pups weigh 3-4 ounces (85 to 110 grams). Litters

average four to nine young, five being the norm. They are

dark grayish/brown in color. Kits develop rapidly, tripling their

weight in ten days.

Kit’s bluish grey eyes open by the second week and the mother is able to

leave them for brief periods of time. By the third week, they are able to

move around and start fighting among themselves to establish an order of

dominance. By the fourth week, weaning begins and kits are fed partially

digested food, regurgitated by their parents. Mother still nurses her

young, but starts to discourage them from suckling.

Wildmarva.com

By the fifth week, they start to explore the outside of the den.

At this time, they are a sandy grey-brown color that

camouflages them well in their new surroundings. A hierarchy

amongst the kits has been established and they are now

enjoying the most carefree times of their lives.

At six and seven weeks, they are much bolder and start

pouncing on leaves and sticks, and roughhousing with their

siblings. They frequently stalk and chase one another, and

some rivalry is still present. The play is needed to learn

hunting and fighting techniques needed later in life.

By the second month, kits are fully weaned, and by the third

month, they are able to catch small prey such as insects.

David White

Summer arrives, their grey coat has turned reddish and their

eyes, the golden color of adults.

David White

In addition to play, the kits accompany their parents on

hunting trips to sharpen their skills.

Forsythe

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At six months, the red fox is fully grown and has most of its skills to

survive. In autumn, fox kits begin to disperse and find their own

territories, males leaving first. In some cases, one or more juvenile

vixens will remain with their parents for a year. They are referred to

as “helper vixens”. They are non-breeding and will help to bring food

to their younger siblings the following year. When foxes disperse,

they will either take over another fox’s territory, or find one of their

own. At this point the cycle begins again.

David White

Mortality:

Natural predators of the red fox can include (depending on

the region) bears, domesticated dogs, eagles, hawks, owls,

wolves and coyotes. Foxes are subject to diseases such as

distemper, sarcoptic mange, and rabies, and more mundane

threats such as starvation, exposure and old age.

Darrin Naish

Humans are responsible for most fox mortality: fur trapping, pest control programs, sport hunting, and destruction of habitat.

Automobiles pose a more serious threat to a fox scavenging

for road kill. Mortality is highest in fox’s first year of life; pups

are vulnerable to predation and juveniles may sometimes lack

experience needed for survival. The average being two to

three kits surviving out of a litter of six.

Conrad Franz

Foxes in the wild may live between three to five years of age.

Foxes in captivity may live to be ten to twelve.

Receiving Calls Related to Red Fox

• Winning the caller’s confidence

Winning the caller’s confidence

• Upon receiving the call, confidently assure the caller you are a professional, and that you are positive you will be able to answer any questions they may have.

• Ask the caller to give you clear description of the animal to make sure you are discussing red fox to begin with.

• Determine if the fox is diseased or injured (if so, take necessary steps to help it).

• If you have determined the fox is healthy, let the caller know you are not in the business of trapping, relocating, or destroying foxes; you are there to help the fox as well.

• Allow the caller to talk about their concern without interruption.

• Assure the caller again that you can help, but first, you must ask a few questions that will help you to solve their problem.

• Try to find humor within the situation, if possible; don’t press it.

Scanning the Landscape

• By now, you should know if the phone call is

concerning a private home or a business.

• Then, you should ask the caller about the

surroundings (landscape) and any activities

going on within the surroundings.

Scanning the Landscape

• First, ask if domestic animals are fed outside or if a neighbor

may be feeding pets outside, including horses and cattle.

• Ask if there is anyone in the neighborhood feeding feral cats

or if a spay/neuter/release program exists in the area.

• If this is the case, calmly explain what happens in these

circumstances.

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Scanning the Landscape

• Next, ask if there is an open field or abandoned lot, a strip of

trees or forest, a barn or outbuildings.

• Also, ask if groundhog holes are present.

• Last but not least, ask if there is a water source (ponds,

streams, runoffs, etc.).

Scanning the Landscape

• Now, ask what is beyond that.

• Is there any new construction in the area, such as housing,

businesses or roads, etc?

• Have there been sightings of red fox predators such as

coyotes, eagles or bears (depending on the region)?

• Once you have gathered all of this information (and more if

possible) you are ready to …

… place the caller concerns in

perspective

• Now, you should be able to put your puzzle together.

• Refer back to your knowledge of the fox’s natural history.

• Compare the time of year (month or season) with the fox’s life

cycle.

• Educate the caller as to what red fox may be doing at this

time.

Place the caller concerns in

perspective• Talk about how beneficial foxes can be.

• Explain to the caller the foxes will be leaving soon

and give them an estimated time they may be there.

• Ask if they have children or grandchildren and

explain how educational it can be to watch these

animals grow within their life cycle, disperse to go off

and have families on their own.

• Explain how humans are destroying their habitat and

it is harder for these animals to survive in the wild.

• Lastly, explain how

devastating it would

be to destroy, trap or

try to relocate one or

more of these animals

and possibly leave

others to survive on

their own.

Photo: Mike Buxton