11/6/2023 0 Comments Male fox sounds![]() Their sense of smell is excellent, and their hearing is so sharp they can hear small animals digging underground, even under snow (if they’re hungry, they dig them up). They’re fast on their feet-for short bursts, they can run as fast as 30 miles per hour (48km/h). They have five toes on the front feet, four on the back, and long sharp claws. Still, they’re the largest fox species, at about 20–26 inches long (51–66 cm), and their tail is another 14–16 inches (36–41 cm). Beneath, their frame is delicate and thin-they weigh only 10–15 pounds (4.5–7 kg)-comparable to a miniature poodle. They have long, silky guard hairs and a soft, thick underfur that bulks up their appearance, especially when wearing their winter coats. However, there’s one tell-tale tip, so to speak, that makes it pretty conclusive: The tip of their bushy tail is almost always white. So, you can’t always expect to identify a Red Fox by its hair color. As if that wasn’t enough color variation for the “Red” Fox, there are also several genetic mutations. ![]() The hair color of Red Foxes may vary in shade from a light-yellowish tone to deep auburn-red, and some are an entirely different color-black, silver (black with white hair tips), or red with black across the shoulders. Their eyes, which are a distinctive amber color with vertical pupils, face forward on their head, giving them binocular vision like a human’s, but they primarily react to movement like cats do. The ears, legs, and feet are dark brown to black. It typically has white hair under its neck and on its chest. The Red Fox resembles a little dog with a long, pointed snout and triangle-shaped ears. Canidae also includes the Coyote, wolves, jackals, domestic dogs, and other canids. Canidae (CAN-uh-dee) is the family to which it belongs, and that name comes from the Latin canis, meaning dog. The accepted Latin name for the Red Fox is Vulpes vulpes. The word “fox” is derived from the Old English and Old Saxon vohs, Middle Low German vox, and Old High German fuhs. The Bering Land Bridge was covered by deep water 10,000–11,000 years ago. It’s thought that foxes found their way to North America between 300,000 and 130,000 years ago by crossing a sheet of ice that connected Asia and N.A. Their oldest fossils, found in Hungary, date back to the late Pliocene and early Pleistocene Epochs, 3.4 to 1.8 million years ago. Ten of them inhabit the United States, except the desert Southwest. There are 45 subspecies spread around the world, except for Antarctica and South America. There are many species of foxes, but when we think of ‘fox,’ isn’t it the Red Fox that first comes to mind? It’s one of the earth’s most widely distributed land carnivores and the fox most often seen in our cities. That might mean calling your yard home, where they quietly rest out of sight by day and stealthily sweep it at night for edibles. ![]() They’re intelligent, clever, and resourceful, so they simply exchange their country-bumpkin ways for the life of a city slicker. The common phrase “smart as a fox” isn’t an empty one. ![]() Would it surprise you to learn a Red Fox is your neighbor? Even in the city? They often stay put when urbanization consumes their habitat, remaining just out of sight as the city builds around them.
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