Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) with prey. Credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Scientific name: Vulpes vulpes

Common name: Red fox

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Carnivora

Family: Canidae

Other common names: Renard, renard roux, fuchs, rotfuchs, zorro rojo, zorro,  coloured fox, silver fox (colour phase), cross fox (colour phase), الثعلب الأحمر, Raposa-vermelha, guilla, guineu, guineu comuna, guineu roja, rabosa, chi-hu, hu-li, 狐狸, 红狐, 草狐, 赤狐, 狐狸, 红狐, 草狐, 赤狐, vos, kettu, Κόκκινη Αλεπού, volpe, volpe rossa, lape, rev, mandra, rainal, volp, lis, raposa, raposa-vermelha, лисица рыжая

Measurements: Weigh 3-14 kg, 455-900 mm head-body length, & 300-555 mm tail length.  Males tend to be larger than females.

Description: 65% are pale yellow-red to red-brown on their top and sides with white, ashy, or slate bellies, black lower legs, & white or black-tipped tail; 25% (called cross foxes) are similar to darker individuals of normal colouration but with a black cross on the shoulder; 10% (called silver foxes) are silver to black in colour.

Native range: Possibly the most naturally widespread mammal species apart from humans.  Native to Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bhutan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Faeroe Islands, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, North Korea, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sudan, Svalbard & Jan Mayen, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikstan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City, & Yemen.

Extinct in: Probably extinct in South Korea.

Introduced to: Australia

Habitat: Red foxes are found in virtually all habitats except extreme desert (including urban areas), from sea level to 4500m elevation, but prefer dry mixed habitats with plenty of forest/bush bordering with more open habitats.

IUCN conservation status:Least concern

Movements: They do not take part in migrations, only small-scale local movements.

Diet: Omnivorous; mostly rodents & lagomorphs (rabbits, hares, pikas) up to 3-5 kg, invertebrates, & fruit; also eats carrion & ground-nesting birds & their eggs.

Social organisation: During the breeding season they can be found in pairs, or rarely a male with two females, but the males and females split up after the cubs are on their own.  Sometimes nonbreeding females might join a group to help a female raise her offspring as well, but otherwise red foxes tend to avoid each other and interactions will usually be aggressive but rarely physically.

Voice/sounds:  Barks, whines, growls, "cough" vocalisations, and screams are all made; listen to them here.

Breeding behaviour: Red foxes are usually seasonally monogamous (they stay with their partner for the breeding season), or more rarely a male will breed with two females who may or may not share the same den.  Dens are usually dug in either sandy soil or in pastures or fields, will have a number of entrances (the main one will be ~40 cm high), and can be up to 22.5 m long.

Breeding season: Winter to spring

Number of offspring: 1-17 (usually 3-4)

Gestation period: 51-54 days

Growth of young: Cubs are 50-150 g, 150-219 mm total length, have a dark grey coat, and have their eyes closed when born.  Eyes open at three weeks old, they can walk at three weeks, and they begin to be weaned at a month of age.  Most disperse between six to twelve months of age.  They are sexually mature their first breeding season, but in areas with high fox densities many do not produce pups until the following year.

General behaviour: Usually nocturnal and crepuscular.  Often rests above ground, but also sometimes uses burrows.

Watch a short video of red foxes from www.arkive.org

References:

Ables, E.D.  (1969).  Activity studies of red foxes in Southern Wisconsin.  The Journal of Wildlife Management, 33, 145-153.

Allen, S.H.  (1984).  Some aspects of reproductive performance in female red fox in North Dakota.  Journal of Mammalogy, 65, 246-255.

Encyclopedia of Life.  (2018).  http://www.eol.org.

Ewer, R.F.  (1973).  The carnivores.  Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

Hayssen, V., van Tienhoven, A., & van Tienhoven, A.  (1993).  Asdell's patterns of mammalian reproduction: A compendium of species-specific data.  Ithaca: Comstock Publishing Associates.

Hewson, R.  (1986).  Distribution and density of fox breeding dens and the effects of management.  Journal of Applied Ecology, 23, 531-538.

International Union for Conservation of Nature.  The IUCN Red List for endangered species. (2018).  http://iucnredlist.org.

Kolb, H.H., & Hewson, R.  (1980).  The diet and growth of fox cubs in two regions of Scotland.  Acta Theriologica, 25, 325-331.

Larivière, S., & Pasitschniak-Arts, M.  (1996).  Vulpes vulpes.  Mammalian Species, 537, 1-11.

Linhart, S.B.  (1968).  Dentition and pelage in the juvenile red fox (Vulpes vulpes).  Journal of Mammalogy, 49, 526-528.

Macdonald, D.W.  (1979).  'Helpers' in fox society.  Nature, 282, 69-71.

Meia, J.S., & Weber, J.M.  (1993).  Choice of resting sites by female foxes Vulpes vulpes in a mountainous habitat.  Acta Theriologica, 38, 81-91.

Newton-Fisher, N., Harris, S., White, P., & Jones, G.  (1993).  Structure and function of red fox Vulpes vulpes vocalisations.  Bioacoustics, 5, 1-31.

Preston, E.M.  (1975).  Home range defense in the red fox Vulpes vulpes L.  Journal of Mammalogy, 56, 645-652.

Sargeant, A.B.  (1972).  Red fox spatial characteristics in relation to waterfowl predation.  The Journal of Wildlife Management, 36, 225-236.

Schantz, T. von.  (1981).  Female cooperation, male competition, and dispersal in the red fox Vulpes vulpes.  Oikos, 37, 63-68.

Schantz, T. von.  (1984).  'Non-breeders' in the red fox Vulpes vulpes: a case of resource surplus.  Oikos, 42, 59-65.

Sheldon, W.G.  (1950).  Denning habits and home range of red foxes in New York state.  The Journal of Wildlife Management, 14, 33-42.

Storm, G.L., & Ables, E.D.  (1966).  Notes on newborn and full-term wild red foxes.  Journal of Mammalogy, 47, 116-118.

Travaini, A., Aldama, J.J., Laffitte, R., & Delibes, M.  (1993).  Home range and activity patterns of red fox Vulpes vulpes breeding females.  Acta Theriologica, 38, 427-434.

Weber, J.M., Meia, J.S., & Aubry, S.  (1994).  Activity of foxes, Vulpes vulpes, in the Swiss Jura mountains.  Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde, 59, 9-13.

White, P.C.L., & Harris, S.  (1994).  Encounters between red foxes (Vulpes vulpes): implications for territory maintenance, social cohesion and dispersal.  Journal of Animal Ecology, 63, 315-327.

Wilson, D.E., & Mittermeier, R.A. editors.  (2009).  Handbook of the mammals of the world. Volume 1: Carnivores.  Barcelona: Lynx Edicions.