Vulpes vulpes
COREL
The Red Fox is one of our
few mammal
predators.
Wolves and Mountain Lions have long been extinct in
Virginia. The Red Fox has rusty,
reddish fur with a white chin, throat, and belly. The tip of
its tail is also white. Red Foxes have pointy
ears and a bushy tail. They can stand 16 inches tall and be
about three and a half feet long. They weigh up to 15
pounds. Red Foxes look very much like dogs, which they are
related to. Red Foxes are shy
animals, so you will rarely see them. They are most active
at night. The Red Fox lives alone
until mating season. Copyright, Archbold
Biological Station Copyright, Gerald and
Buff Corsi, California Academy of Sciences After mating, foxes will
make a maternity den for raising young. Most often they will
find and enlarge an old woodchuck burrow.
Sometimes it will be in a hollow log, streambank, rockpile,
cave, or dense
shrub. The den is usually chosen
at a place where there is raised ground so the foxes can see
all around. The main entrance will be approximately three
feet wide, and the den will have one or two escape
holes. The den is lined with
grass
and dry leaves. A Red Fox
litter
can have anywhere from one to ten pups. When the fox pups are old
enough to eat meat, the mother will regurgitate
(throw up) meat she has eaten for them. Later, she will
bring live prey
she has caught so they can learn how to kill. Next, they
will be able to go on a hunt with their parents. Red fox pups leave the
den to be on their own when they are about seven months old.
Once the young have left, the parents will separate and go
off on their own.
Copyright, COREL
