Foxes are one of the most popular representatives of the wild animal world. Remember your childhood, in almost every fairy tale, cartoon, story there was a mention of this animal. This fiery red-haired beauty attracted not only her appearance, but also by disposition, intelligence, cunning. But few people know that in addition to the red beast we are used to, there are about 40 more species of foxes in nature, differing in coat color and size. All specimens belong to the canine family, and accordingly are endowed with all the characteristics characteristic of this type. Even though they inhabit different areas lands, unite them: way of nutrition, way of life, reproduction.
Now we bring to your attention the following breeds of foxes.
Common fox, red
Found in Eurasia and also North America, in fact, this is the habitat of this species. The color and size of representatives vary depending on the habitat. In total, about 50 subspecies are known, excluding small forms. Closer to the north, the animals become large and light-colored, and on the way to the south they become small and with dull colors. In the north live mainly silver foxes and other melanistic color forms. The predominant color of the fur: deep red back, black ears and paws, white belly and tip of the tail, but there are dark stripes throughout the body. The parameters suggest that this is the largest fox individual. The length reaches 90 centimeters, the tail is about 60, and the weight is up to 10 kg.
Regarding its way of life, the fox is a pronounced merciless predator, quite attentive and merciless to the prey it catches. Typically, a wild fox feeds on rodents and insects. A special delicacy is hare meat, poultry and bird eggs. Also, the diet includes plant foods such as berries, various fruits, and fruits.
Foxes produce offspring once a year. The female carries the babies from seven to nine weeks. As a rule, from four to twelve puppies are born; they are predominantly dark brown in color. Outwardly, they strongly resemble wolf cubs, the only noticeable difference is the white tip of the tail. After 14 days, babies see, hear and show off their sharp teeth. Both parents take care of the offspring. But due to the fact that adults often go hunting, after a month and a half they master a new territory and eat adult food. And after six months, they are completely ready for independent life. A mutated breed of Canadian red fox, the silver fox, is often found in Alaska.
Now known in fur farming different breeds foxes bred at home for the purpose of obtaining fur, among them hybrids of silver fox and red fox are in particular demand.
Korsak
The next representative of the fox family, which we could not ignore. In appearance, a corsac resembles an ordinary fox, only much smaller in size (the length of its body is 50-60 cm, its tail is about 30 cm, Weight Limit 6 kg) with large ears and high paws. The corsac dog has a short and pointed muzzle with wide cheekbones. The fur is light gray and reddish-gray, but there are specimens with splashes of red on the fur. The abdomen and chin are white or slightly yellowish. But the tail tassel is dark in color.
Steppe fox - corsac
You can also see changes depending on the time of year. In summer, the fox's coat consists of short hairs, but in winter, on the contrary, the pile is much longer, and there is quite pubescent fur. This species is a colonizing type of the southern, of Eastern Europe, Asia.
They live mainly in steppe and desert areas with little vegetation. And the corsac does not make much effort to build housing, since it mainly inhabits the burrows of badgers, marmots, gerbils or other individuals of its family.
But the corsac comes out to hunt at night. It eats rodents, reptiles, insects, and poultry. If there are no delicacies, then the corsac can safely profit from carrion or garbage. Doesn't eat vegetation.
Interesting fact! When meeting a person, these specimens pretend to be dead, and as soon as attention is diverted, they immediately run away.
The method of reproduction is not much different from the red fox, but there is a difference in the relationship between partners; for the most part, the corsac is a monogamous animal.
Remember! The corsac is an endangered species of fox and is therefore listed in the Red Book.
Miniature Fennec Fox
Fenech is the smallest representative of the fox world. So that you understand how small it is, look at domestic cat So, this copy is a little smaller. The height at the withers is 18-22 cm, the body length is 30-40 cm, the tail is up to 30 cm, it weighs up to 1.5 kg. The main habitat is desert expanses from Morocco to Tunisia, Egypt, Somalia. The muzzle of this animal is quite small, pointed like all foxes, and does not cause much delight. This class is famous for its ears. In relation to the size of the head, they are the largest among all predators, reaching a length of 15 cm. Their purpose is to cool the body. The animal's foot is pubescent to facilitate movement on the hot desert sand.
Fenech is endowed with thick, long, silky hair. Its top is red and its bottom is white. The tail is fluffy with a black tip. Fenech arranges housing independently. Digs a deep hole with big amount tunnels near bushes and grass thickets.
This type of animal does not like loneliness, which is why they live family groups approximately 10 people each. Consists like this big family from a pair of adult spouses and immature children of the previous brood.
This baby eats small vertebrates, eggs, insects, all kinds of carrion, plant roots, and various fruits.
The main feature is the ability to jump high. During the hunt, the animal is capable of jumping to a height of 70 cm.
The method of reproduction is slightly different from large species. They breed once a year. Puppies appear after about fifty-three days. Until the babies are two weeks old, the mother does not leave the house, stays next to them and does not let the father near. But after three months, the offspring becomes almost independent and leaves the female.
Fenech is quite often found at home. Among amateurs exotic species Almost everyone is ready to pay a lot of money for a cute pet. The domestic fennec is quite calm, funny, and affectionate.
Tree fox or gray fox
The most suitable habitat for this animal is forest edges, mountain forests of southern Canada, northern South America. This breed is characterized by:
- An oblong, well-fed body on low and strong legs;
- Shaggy tail;
- Body length is forty-eight to sixty centimeters, tail length is from twenty-five to fifty cm; weight – 3-6kg;
- Peculiar appearance:
- The fur on the back, sides, upper part of the tail, and muzzle is gray;
- Neck, chest, front part of the forelimbs, inner part rear ones, painted with white tan marks;
- There are red-red spots on the body.
A distinctive feature of this type is the ability to climb trees, thanks to the presence of two dozen hook-shaped claws. Which allows you to catch squirrels or birds. These foxes can eat both meat and vegetarian food. In addition to meat, small rodents enjoy eating nuts, fruits, and grains.
When choosing housing, the gray fox is not particularly scrupulous; it can safely live in rock splits, tree hollows, and abandoned holes.
The spouses produce offspring in approximately 51-63 days. In one litter there are from three to six black puppies.
From Arctic zone before north coast Gulf of Mexico. The fox was acclimatized in Australia and spread throughout the continent, with the exception of some northern regions with a humid subequatorial climate.
Previously it was believed that living in America separate species foxes, but in Lately it is considered a subspecies of the red fox.
Appearance
Vulpes vulpes- ScullThe color and size of foxes vary in different areas; in total there are 40-50 subspecies, not taking into account smaller forms. In general, as you move north, foxes become larger and lighter in color, and as you move south, they become smaller and duller in color. IN northern regions and in the mountains black-brown and other melanistic forms of fox coloration are also more common. The most common color: bright red back, white belly, dark paws. Often foxes have brown stripes on the ridge and shoulder blade, similar to a cross. Common distinguishing features: dark ears and white tip of the tail. Externally, the fox is a medium-sized animal with a graceful body on low paws, with an elongated muzzle, sharp ears and a long fluffy tail.
Molting begins in February-March and ends in mid-summer. Immediately after this, the fox begins to grow winter fur, in which it is completely dressed by the turn of November and December. Summer fur is much thinner and shorter, winter fur is thicker and more lush. Foxes are distinguished by their large locator ears, with the help of which they pick up sound vibrations. Ears for foxes are the “catcher” of prey.
The vocalization of the red fox is the same howl as that of a wolf, only lower in tone.
Ecology
Red fox
The significant variety of color and size of the fox is associated with the breadth of its range and the great diversity of living conditions in its individual parts. Suffice it to say that foxes inhabit, although with different densities, all landscape-geographical zones, from the tundra and subarctic forests to the steppe and deserts, including mountain ranges in all climatic zones Oh. Moreover, the fox is found not only in wildlife, but also in cultural landscapes, as well as on the outskirts of cities, including large ones (such as Kyiv and Warsaw; in London, foxes are quite common on the outskirts, and sometimes appear in the central part of the city). Moreover, at times in urbanized areas the fox finds a particularly favorable environment for itself. They often inhabit city landfills, parks and basements of houses.
In all parts of its range, the fox gives preference open area, as well as areas where there are separate groves, copses, hills and ravines, especially if in winter the snow cover in them is not too deep and loose. Therefore, of all the climatic zones, most foxes live in the steppe and forest-steppe, and not in the forest.
The fox is a fairly sedentary animal. In most areas it is not characterized by regular migrations. Cases of such are observed only in the tundra, deserts and mountains. For example, one of the foxes tagged in the Malozemelskaya tundra (Arkhangelsk region, Russia) was later killed 600 kilometers to the southwest. Young animals that migrate from the parental den are usually located at a distance of 2-5 to 15-30 km from it.
The number of foxes fluctuates noticeably from year to year. Its condition is influenced by factors such as the number of rodents, weather conditions, presence in the population infectious diseases. In hungry years, not only does the fertility of females decrease and fewer puppies survive, but conditions also arise that are favorable for the spread of epizootics, which sometimes cover large areas. Epizootics characteristic of foxes are rabies, predator plague, and scabies.
In the wild, foxes rarely live more than seven years, often life expectancy does not exceed three. In captivity, animals live up to 20-25 years.
Nutrition
Fox with prey
The fox, although it belongs to typical predators, feeds on a very diverse diet. Among the food it eats, more than 400 species of animals alone have been identified, not counting several dozen species of plants. Everywhere, the basis of its diet consists of small rodents, mainly voles. One can even say that the state of the population of this predator largely depends on the sufficiency of their number and availability. This especially applies to the winter period, when the fox lives primarily by hunting field mice: the animal, sensing under snow cover rodent, listens to its squeak, and then quickly dives into the snow, or scatters it with its paws, trying to catch prey. This method of hunting is called mouseing.
Economic importance
The vixen has a big economic importance as a valuable fur-bearing animal, as well as a regulator of the number of rodents and insects. At the same time, the damage that foxes cause to commercial game and poultry is much less than the benefit they bring by destroying rodents - grain consumers.
Foxes are bred in captivity specifically for their fur. IN late XIX centuries, a breed of silver-black (silver-brown) foxes was artificially bred. Then, thanks to selection, the quality of fur of this breed was significantly improved (compared to the wild type), and a number of other fur breeds were developed on its basis: platinum, Bakurian, Dakota and others.
In the south of Europe wild foxes- the largest carrier of the rabies virus, so they are vaccinated everywhere.
Domestication
Subspecies
The species is very rich in variety of subspecies. There are more than 40 of them in total; in this diversity, the Red Fox species is second only to the wolf, the progenitor of the domestic dog, and shows an amazing adaptive ability to survive in the process of evolution and the life of this amazing omnivore:
- Vulpes vulpes abietorum
- Vulpes vulpes aeygptica
- Vulpes vulpes alascensis
- Vulpes vulpes alpherakyi
- Vulpes vulpes alticola
- Vulpes vulpes anatolica
- Vulpes vulpes arabica
- Vulpes vulpes atlantica
- Vulpes vulpes barbaras
- Vulpes vulpes beringiana
- Vulpes vulpes cascadensis
- Vulpes vulpes caucasica
- Vulpes vulpes crucigera
- Vulpes vulpes daurica
- Vulpes vulpes diluta
- Vulpes vulpes dolichocrania
- Vulpes vulpes dorsalis
- Vulpes vulpes flavescens
- Vulpes vulpes fulva
- Vulpes vulpes griffithi
- Vulpes vulpes harrimani
- Vulpes vulpes hoole
- Vulpes vulpes ichnusae
- Vulpes vulpes induta
- Vulpes vulpes jakutensis
- Vulpes vulpes japonica
- Vulpes vulpes karagan
- Vulpes vulpes kenaiensis
- Vulpes vulpes krimeamontana
- Vulpes vulpes kurdistanica
- Vulpes vulpes macroura
- Vulpes vulpes montana
- Vulpes vulpes necator
- Vulpes vulpes ochroxanta
- Vulpes vulpes palaestina
- Vulpes vulpes peculiosa
- Vulpes vulpes pusilla
- Vulpes vulpes regalis
- Vulpes vulpes rubricosa
- Vulpes vulpes schrencki
- Vulpes vulpes silacea
- Vulpes vulpessplendidissima
- Vulpes vulpes stepensis
- Vulpes vulpes tobolica
- Vulpes vulpes tschiliensis
Reflection in art
The red fox is a very common character in folklore. different countries peace. IN European countries Ah, she, as a rule, embodies cunning and deceit, playing quite a variety of roles: from treacherous scoundrels (as in a number of Russian fairy tales) to smart advisers (As in the fairy tale of Boris Shergin, Poig and the Fox). One of the most famous fox characters is Renard the Fox, a character in the classic medieval poem Romance of the Fox.
In Mesopotamian mythology, the fox is a sacred animal. She serves the goddess Ki as a messenger. In Finland, the fox is a symbol of cunning, but not evil.
In Japanese mythology, there are kitsune werefoxes who can take on human form. They have enormous knowledge and master magic. Kitsune later became popular in literature, cinema and video games. Spirits similar to kitsune also appear in Chinese and Korean myths.
Literature
- 1100 - Medieval poem “The Romance of the Fox”
- 1793 - “Reinecke the Fox” by J. W. Goethe
- 1879 - “Brother Fox and Brother Rabbit. From the Tales of Uncle Remus" Joel Chandler Harris
- 1883 - “The Adventures of Pinocchio” by Carlo Collodi: Fox, one of the negative characters
- 1905 - “Red Fox” Charles Roberts: about the life of a fox from the deep forest regions of Eastern Canada
- 1909 - “Domino” by E. Seton-Thompson: about the adventures of a fox named Domino
- 1935 - “The Golden Key, or the Adventures of Pinocchio” by Alexei Tolstoy: fox Alice
- 1943 - “The Little Prince” A.-E. Exupery. The fox is the author of the classic speech about taming.
- 1965 - “Tutta Carlson is the first and only, Ludwig the Fourteenth and others” by Jan Ekholm: about the friendship of the fox Ludwig and the chicken Tutta Carlson
- 1965 - “Little Fox Vuk” by Istvan Fekete
- 1967 - The Fox and the Hound by Daniel Pratt Mannix
- 1970 - The Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl: Mr. Fox, Mrs. Fox and Their Children
- 1989 - “The Moon Beast” by Harry Kilworth: about the life of the fox O-ha
- 2001 - “The Case of the Werefoxes” by Holm van Zaitchik: alternative history with elements of mysticism
- 2004 - “The Sacred Book of the Werewolf” by V. Pelevin: about the were-fox A Khuli
Animation
- 1937 - “Reinecke the Fox” directed by Vladislav Starevich: based on the poem of the same name by J. V. Goethe
- 1973 - Disney's Robin Hood: Robin Hood and Maid Marian
- 1978 - “Poiga and the Fox”: based on the fairy tale by B. Shchergin
- 1980 - “How foxes and chickens became friends
- 1981 - “Vuk”: based on the fairy tale by I. Fekete about an orphaned fox
- 1981 - Disney's "The Fox and the Hound": Tod the fox and his friend Vixie. Based on the book of the same name by Daniel Pratt Mannix
- 1984 - “Pillow for the Sun”: Alice the fox and her grandmother
- 1986 - “A Winter Story”: a Welsh cartoon about the little fox Mick and his parents
- 1986 - “Wonderful Forest”: one of the cartoon characters is the fox Lily. Based on the book by Suncana Skrinjaric
- 1987 - “Abduction in Tyuturlistan”: the fox Khitrunya is one of the main characters
- 1989-1993 - “Little Fox”: a series of Soviet cartoons about a little fox and his friends
- 1992-1995 - “The Animals of Farthing Wood”: Fox and Vixen and their cubs
- 1999 - “Foxbusters”: a fox tribe led by King Voracious
- 1995 - “The Incredible Adventures of Dwarves”: the fox is a friend of the main character, the gnome David
- 2003 - “Cunning Little Vixen”: based on Leoš Janáček’s opera “Příhody lišky bystroušky” (The Adventures of a Trickster Fox)
- 2005 - “Renard the Fox” directed by Thierry Schiel: based on the medieval “Romance of the Fox”
- 2006 - “Night of the Autumn Full Moon”: based on Japanese fairy tales. The Story of the Fox and the Badger
- 2009 - “Fantastic Mr. Fox”: Mr. Fox, Mrs. Fox, their son, and nephew
Movie
- 1975 - “The Adventures of Pinocchio”: film adaptation of the fairy tale by Alexei Tolstoy
- 1984 - “Red-haired honest lover”: based on the fairy tale by Jan Ekholm
- 2005 - “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” - Mr. Fox
- 2006 - “Fox Helen”
Music
- 1923 - “The Adventures of the Trickster Fox” (Czech: Příhody lišky bystroušky): opera by Leoš Janáček about the life of the fox Ostroushka
Common fox or red fox (Vulреs vulреs) - carnivorous mammal, which belongs to the canine family. Currently, the common fox is the most common and most close-up view from the family of foxes.
Description of the common fox
The red fox is an extremely widespread predator in our country, belonging to the class of mammals and the canine family. Such an animal has high economic importance as a valuable fur-bearing animal, as well as a regulator of the number of insects and rodents. In appearance, the fox is a medium-sized wild animal with an elongated muzzle, a very graceful body and low, rather thin paws.
Appearance
The color and size of the fox have noticeable differences depending on the habitat. IN northern regions The mammalian predator has a larger body size and light-colored fur, and in the south, rather small and dull-colored individuals are more common. Among other things, in the northern regions, as well as in mountainous areas, the presence of black-brown and other melanistic forms of fox color is very often noted.
However, the most common color is with a bright red dorsal area, a whitish belly and dark legs. Often the common fox has brown stripes located on the ridge and in the area of the shoulder blades, resembling a cross in appearance. The average body length of an adult predator varies between 60-90 cm, and the tail length is 40-60 cm with a shoulder height of 35-40 cm. The standard weight of a mature fox can range from 6.0 to 10.0 kg.
This is interesting! General distinctive features common fox, regardless of the main color, is the presence of dark-colored ears and a very characteristic white tip on the tail.
Fox subspecies
Currently, there are about forty or fifty subspecies of the red fox, not including the smallest forms of this mammalian predator. About fifteen subspecies live on the territory of European countries, and about thirty main subspecies are known in the rest of the natural range.
Lifestyle and character
An individual plot occupied by a mature pair or family of foxes provides predators not only with a sufficient food supply, but is also suitable for constructing burrows that this mammal digs independently. Quite often, foxes use empty holes abandoned by badgers, marmots, arctic foxes and other types of burrowing animals as a home.
Cases are well known when a fox adapted a separate animal from another for its needs. wild beast and thus inhabited the hole at the same time as an animal such as, for example, a badger.
Most often, the fox settles on ravine slopes or among hills represented by sandy soils, protected from flooding by rain, groundwater or melt water. In any case, the hole of such a predator necessarily has several entrance holes, as well as long tunnels and a convenient nesting chamber. In some cases, foxes use natural shelters for living in the form of voluminous caves and rock crevices or a hollow in a thick fallen tree.
This is interesting! As a rule, foxes use permanent shelters exclusively for the period of birth and raising of cubs, and the rest of the time the predator is content with resting in the den open type, arranged in grass or snow.
Common fox moving in calm state, moves in a straight line, so it leaves behind a fairly clear and clearly visible chain of traces. A frightened animal is characterized by fast running with a low inclination of the body and a fully extended tail. The vision of a predator is perfectly adapted for the dark time of day, when the animal is most active.
Along with other predatory animals, the fox reacts with lightning speed to any movement, but recognizes colors very poorly, especially during daylight hours.
Lifespan
In captivity average duration The lifespan of a common fox reaches a quarter of a century, and a wild predatory animal that lives in natural conditions, can live no more than ten years.
Range and habitats
The common fox inhabits almost all territories of our country, with the exception of the northern tundra and the island parts of the Polar Basin, where it lives in large numbers. Such a common predator is very well adapted to the most different conditions habitat, therefore found in mountainous area, taiga and tundra, as well as in steppe and desert areas. However, regardless of the habitat, the fox prefers open or semi-open spaces.
On the territory of the tundra and forest-tundra, the predatory mammal adheres to forest areas, which are located in river valleys and near lakes. Best place, which is optimally suitable for fox habitat, is represented by the central and southern regions of our country, where small areas forest areas interspersed with numerous ravines and rivers, meadows or fields.
If during the autumn-winter period the animal spends a significant part of its time on sufficient open areas, then with the onset of spring and summer, at the stage of active reproduction, the predator moves to more remote places.
Diet of the common fox
Despite belonging to the category of typical predators, the diet of the common fox is very diverse. The food supply of such an animal is represented by four hundred species of animals, as well as several dozen species of plant crops. However, almost everywhere the diet of a predatory mammal includes small rodents. With the onset of winter, the fox hunts mainly voles.
This is interesting! Mousing is a hunting method of the common fox, in which the animal, having sensed a rodent under the snow, practically dives under the snow with quick jumps, and also scatters it with its paws, which makes it easy to catch prey.
They play a fairly minor role in the predator’s diet. large mammals, including hares and roe deer cubs, as well as birds and their chicks. Individuals living in desert and semi-desert areas make their living by catching reptiles, and the predators of Canada and the northeastern part of Eurasia inhabiting coastal areas, seasonally use salmon that died after spawning for their food. IN summer period fox eats a large number of beetles and any other insects, as well as their larvae. During a particularly hungry period, the predatory mammal is able to use collected carrion for food. Plant food represented by fruits, fruits and berries, as well as sometimes vegetative parts of plants.
Reproduction and offspring
The breeding season of the common fox begins in the middle or end of winter, when one female can be pursued by five or six males yapping and fighting with each other. In preparation for the birth of babies, the female carefully cleans the hole, and after the cubs are born, the mother practically stops leaving her home. During this period, the male hunts, leaving his prey at the very entrance to the hole.
In a litter, as a rule, there are five or six, blind and with closed ears, cubs whose body is covered with short baby fluff of a dark brown color. From the very first days of life, the cubs have a characteristic white tail tip. Growth and development in fox cubs occurs quite quickly. At the age of two or three weeks, the babies’ ears and eyes are already opening, and their teeth are also cutting through, so they begin to gradually crawl out of the hole to try “adult” food.
This is interesting! At this time, both parents feed the growing offspring.
Milk feeding lasts no more than a month and a half, after which the fox cubs gradually begin to learn to hunt independently. As a rule, in adult life fox cubs do not arrive until autumn. As observational practice shows, some young females begin to reproduce as early as next year, but in most cases they become fully sexually mature only at the age of one and a half to two years. Males reach sexual maturity about a year or two later.
The fox is one of the most beautiful predatory animals. She has a graceful elongated body, slender legs, long fluffy tail. The head has a pointed muzzle and large erect ears.
Common fox photo.
The fox is the size of a small dog. Body length adult is from 60 to 90 cm, tail length is from 40 to 60 cm. The weight of a fox usually does not exceed 10 kg. Foxes living in northern latitudes, often larger than their southern counterparts.
The fox's fur is long and fluffy, mostly colored red. Belly more often white, less often – black. The further north a fox lives, the brighter its color. Sometimes in nature there are foxes with unusual colors - black-brown, white. During the year, foxes molt twice, changing their fur either to winter fur - thick and long, or to summer fur - sparse and short.
Spreading
The habitat of the common fox is very wide. It is found in Europe and Asia, North America and North Africa. Foxes live in different landscapes - in forests and steppes, in deserts and tundra, in mountains and on flat terrain. But they still prefer open spaces with copses and ravines.
Fox in the forest photo.
Lifestyle
Foxes live in pairs or families. They usually lead a sedentary lifestyle, occupy an area where they hunt and make a home for themselves to spend the night and breed. In deserts and tundras, where they have to travel long distances in search of food, foxes migrate from one place to another.
Foxes dig deep holes in the ground with narrow passages and a wide nesting chamber. They usually make their burrows on the slopes of ravines or hills, protected by dense grass and bushes. Often not one, but two or even more passages lead to the nesting chamber. This allows foxes to escape from their pursuers in case of danger.
Photo of a fox with cubs near a hole.
The fox is a very careful and intelligent animal; it easily evades pursuit, skillfully confusing its tracks and resorting to all sorts of tricks. At the fox's good sense of smell and hearing, thanks to which she easily detects her prey. The fox is capable of making sounds reminiscent of the yapping bark of a dog.
Nutritional Features
Foxes are predators, so their main diet consists of animal food. Foxes hunt both small animals (voles, mice, hamsters) and larger ones (hares and baby roe deer). On occasion, the fox will not refuse to catch a bird or a chick; it may willingly feast on eggs from a nest found in the grass. If there is a lack of food, the fox can feed on carrion.
Most often, the prey of foxes are voles - small mouse-like rodents. They usually make up the main menu of foxes, especially in winter, when food is scarce and very difficult to obtain. In winter, the fox has developed its own method of hunting small rodents, which is called mouseing. This method consists in the fact that the fox listens to rustles and sounds under the snow, and upon hearing the squeak of a vole, quickly jumps headfirst into the snow, tears it with its paws and tries to catch the rodent.
Fox on the hunt photo.
Sometimes foxes steal poultry such as geese or chickens from yards, but this does not happen too often.
In the warm season, foxes supplement their diet plant foods- berries, herbs, fruits.
Reproduction of foxes
Foxes usually breed once a year. To that important event animals prepare in advance - even in winter. Foxes find suitable places to burrow and guard them from others.
One female can be courted by several males at once. They often fight among themselves, seeking the favor of the female.
The male whom the female chooses becomes a good family man. He takes care of the female, helps her improve the hole, and when the cubs appear, he participates in their upbringing.
Pregnancy in a fox lasts from 49 to 58 days. After this, from 4 to 13 fox cubs are born. Cubs are born blind and deaf, but at the age of two weeks they begin to see and hear, and by this time they are teething.
Fox cubs photo.
The fox feeds the cubs with milk for a month and a half. Gradually, the fox cubs are accustomed to regular adult food. To achieve this, foxes have to hunt a lot to bring their prey home.
If something happens to the father fox and he dies, then some other fox who has no offspring takes over his care. He takes care of both the female and the cubs.
When the fox cubs grow up, their parents take them hunting and teach them how to get food. By autumn, the fox cubs become independent and leave the parental hole.
Brief information about the fox.
Who is this fox? What she looks like, where she lives and what she eats, what her habits are - our message will tell you about all this.
What kind of animal is this? What does a fox look like
The fox is a predatory animal that belongs to the canine family.
Externally It looks like a medium-sized dog, but its habits are more cat-like. on her flexible body there is a neat head with a sharp muzzle and mobile, always alert, large dark ears, the legs are short, thin, but strong.
The fur coat of this animal deserves special attention - it is lush, beautiful, and comes in different colors. Most often, bright red foxes are found, but there can also be black, black-brown, and silver ones. There is such a pattern: in the northern regions the fur of these animals is thick and bright, but the further you go south, the more modest it is in both density and color. And the tail of foxes is very beautiful - long, up to 60 cm, fluffy, always with a white tip. Foxes are hunted only for their valuable fur.
Hearing and vision, smell and touch
The fox has excellent hearing. A hundred steps away she can hear the rustling of a mouse in a hole, the distant flapping of wings and the babbling of a hare. Her big ears, as locators, are very good at identifying the source of sound. The fox can also determine the distance from where the sound came to it.
This animal has interesting vision: far-sighted eyes are adapted to notice even the smallest movement of a blade of grass, see well in the dark But the fox does not distinguish colors well, so it can come very close to a motionless person.
She has a good sense of smell, but many other animals have a much more acute sense of smell.
Very good for foxes developed sense of touch: Walking softly and silently on the ground, leaves or snow, they feel the smallest details with their springy paws. They can find a hole with just their paws.
Where live
Foxes can be found all over northern hemisphere Earth, even in .
They dig holes for themselves with several entrances and exits And underground tunnels that lead to the nest.
Sometimes they occupy other people's homes, for example, badger holes. Here they breed and hide from danger. They spend a lot of time in the den in an open place, under a bush, in the grass or snow. They sleep very lightly.
What do they eat?
Fox - predator, excellent, very fast and dexterous hunter. She gets great pleasure from the hunting process itself. Its prey is small rodents, moles,... Loves to feast on eggs, eats insects, their larvae, worms, catches fish and crayfish. In times of hunger, it does not disdain carrion. Can diversify the diet with berries and fruits.
By the way, by exterminating rodents and beetles, the fox brings great benefits to agriculture.
Reproduction
The mating season for foxes is January-February. One female is courted by several males at once, who fight each other until they bleed. The fox creates a pair with the winner. Foxes are good parents. They do everything together - they dig a hole, raise offspring, get food.
The female's pregnancy lasts 2 months, in early spring in the burrow 5-7 blind and deaf puppies are born(that's what fox cubs are called). At 2 weeks, puppies begin to see and hear, and they are teething. But for a month and a half, the babies do not leave the hole, feeding on their mother’s milk. Only in June do the fox cubs begin to go outside with their parents. They play and frolic in the sun, learn to hunt.
In mid-autumn, foxes leave their families to live independently. At 2 years old they are already able to reproduce.
Types of foxes
Total in nature there are more than 20 types these animals. The most common is ordinary Red fox. There are also African, Bengal, gray, sand, small, Brazilian and other types of foxes.
One of the most interesting is the fennec. This is a miniature fox with interesting appearance, she is even smaller in size than a cat.. Lives in North Africa.
Habits
Why In all fairy tales, the fox is quick-witted, cunning and insidious, dexterous and smart? Because that's what she really is. One can only wonder how this animal knows how to confuse its tracks, deceive game, pretend and deceive. Although you shouldn’t attribute any incredible abilities to the fox.
Intelligence and cunning are just an animal instinct that nature endowed her with so that the fox could survive.
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