Foxes

Information

Fox is a common name for many species of carnivorous mammals belonging to the
Canidae family.

Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually
belong to the Vulpes genus of 'true foxes'.

The gray fox is one of only two canine species known to climb trees; the other is the
raccoon dog.

Pictures

Life Span

In the wild, foxes can live for up to 10 years, but most foxes only live for 2 to 3 years due to
hunting, road accidents and diseases.

Food

Foxes are omnivores. However, it also includes rodents, rabbits and other small mammals,
reptiles, (such as snakes), amphibians, grasses, berries, fruit, fish, birds, eggs, dung beetles, insects
and all other kinds of small animals. Many species are generalist predators, but some (such asthe
crab-eating fox) are more specialist.

Moy Mizrahi Mizrahi

 Number of pups

The red fox primarily forms monogamous pairs each winter, who cooperate to raise a
litter of 4-6 kits (also called pups) each year.

Do they migrate? Why?

They winter in temperate and subtropical North America; in the northern USA and
southern Canada they often only stop over on their migration further south. The spring
migration starts around February, and by early May almost all birds have returned to the
breeding grounds. In fall, they start to move south around early October, and by mid-
November, only the last stragglers still remain up North.

Is there a hierarchy?

Where groups of foxes persist, the social structure among individuals can be strict, with alpha
(top) and omega (lower) foxes.   Interestingly, it is the females that take part in, often violent,
fights for dominance; males tend to merely leave and look for a new territory.   The population
hierarchy is evident in foxes as young as one week old; cubs fight with each other for access to

Moy Mizrahi Mizrahi

food and establish a feeding hierarchy.   From about 25 days old, there is a fairly distinct 'pecking
order' in place, whereby the largest cub -- irrespective of sex -- is usually the alpha.   As the cubs
emerge from the earth and begin to forage for food in the immediate periphery (at about six or
seven weeks old) the group structure is more obvious.   If a young omega vixen manages to obtain
food from a parent (or catches it herself) she will have to either run and hide whilst she eats it, or
fight off her siblings.   (Photo: From an early age, fox cubs begin establishing dominance, which
will define their place within the family group - often directly affecting the proportion of food
they receive.  The aptly-
named "fox trot" is one of the
ways social dominance
is confirmed without bloodshed.)
Moy Mizrahi Mizrahi