Foxes
Foxes are various members of the dog family (Canidae)
resembling
small to medium-sized,
bushy-tailed dogs with long fur, pointed ears, relatively short legs,
and narrow snouts. In a more restricted sense, the name refers to about
10 species of true foxes (Vulpes), especially the red, or common, foxes,
V. vulpes of the Old World and V. fulva (included with V. vulpes
by
some authorities) of the New World.
Red
foxes are widely held symbols of animal cunning and are the subject of
a considerable amount of folklore. The native Old World form ranges over
virtually all of Europe, temperate Asia, and northern Africa. The New
World red fox inhabits most of North America north of Mexico. Red foxes,
with their coats of long guard hairs and soft, fine underfur, are
typically a rich reddish brown with white-tipped tail and black
ears and legs. Color is variable; the color phases known
as black and silver
fox are found in North America, and the cross, or brant, fox is
found in both North America and the Old World.
Red foxes are generally
about 90-105 centimeters (36-42 inches) long (about 35-40 cm of this
being tail), stand about 40 cm at the shoulder, and weigh about 7
kilograms (15 pounds). Their preferred habitat is mixed farmlands and
woodlots. Small mammals, chiefly mice and rabbits, as well as eggs,
fruit, and birds (including some domestic fowl) comprise the diet; remains
of larger animals usually indicate that the fox fed on carrion. Red
foxes mate in winter; after a gestation period of about 51 days, the
female (vixen) gives birth to 1-10 cubs (pups) in a den, which is commonly
a burrow abandoned by another animal and enlarged by the parent foxes.
The cubs remain in the den for about five weeks and are cared for by both
parents throughout the summer. Red foxes are hunted by man, one of
their few enemies, for sport and fur.
Fox pelts, especially those of silver foxes, are commonly produced
commercially on fox farms. Wild red foxes, although they are often
destroyed for raiding hen houses, are highly beneficial in controlling
undesirable rodents.
The other members of the genus Vulpes and the varieties of red foxes include
the
following:
African Sand fox or Pale fox.
Bengal fox or Indian fox (V. bengalensis) - small gray fox common in southern
Asia.
Black fox, color phase of the red fox.
Blanford's fox (hoary fox).
Brant fox (cross fox) - yellowish brown color phase of the red fox, having a
cross-shaped black marking extending across the shoulders and down the back.
Chama (caama, cama, kama) fox or South African silver fox - long-eared, gray-coated
species of southern
Africa, found particularly in the Kalahari Desert region; sometimes called fennec;
length usually less than 60 cm.
Corsac (corsak) fox or Steppe fox (V. corsac) - small, steppe-dwelling
fox of eastern
Eurasia with a coat of yellowish brown or reddish brown,
Hoary fox (V. cana) - Eurasian species about 60 cm in length; coat gray
above, white below.
Kit fox (V. macrotis) and swift or plains kit fox (V. velox) -
large-eared pale
foxes of western North American plains and deserts; possibly not separable as
two distinct species; colour gray to yellowish brown with black-tipped tail; adult
length about 40-50 cm without the 20-30-cm tail, weight about 1.5-3 kg;
V. macrotis,
smaller with larger ears; both forms live in burrows, feed on small animals (rodents,
rabbits, insects); shy, uncommon, beneficial in rodent control.
Pale fox (V. pallida) - yellow to brown desert fox of northern Africa.
Ruppell's fox or Sand fox (V. ruppelli) - big-eared gray desert fox of
northern Africa and
southwestern Asia; sometimes also called fennec; length to 74 cm.
Samson fox - genetic mutant strain of red fox found in northwestern Europe; guard
hairs lacking, underfur tightly curled,
Silver fox - a color phase of the red fox having a variable amount of white or
white-banded
hairs in the black coat.
Tibetan sand fox (V. ferrilata) - short-eared, short-tailed central Asian
fox with
a yellowish coat.
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