Fox is a doglike animal with a bushy tail and a sharp snout. Foxes belong to the same family of animals as coyotes, dogs, jackals, and wolves. True foxes include the Arctic fox, the gray fox, and the red fox. Several foxlike animals are also called foxes. Foxes and foxlike animals live throughout the world, except in Antarctica and Southeast Asia and on some islands. They may be found in farmlands and forests, on deserts, and even in wooded areas of some cities and suburbs.
Foxes are quick, skillful hunters. The red fox can easily catch a dodging rabbit. This fox can also creep silently toward a bird, then rush up and pounce on it.
Some kinds of foxes have long, soft fur that has historically been valued highly. People still trap foxes for their fur and also raise the animals on fur farms, but such practices have declined in many areas.
Some people hunt the red fox because of its skill in trying to avoid capture. The hunters use hounds to follow the scent of the fox. Many hunters seek only the excitement of the chase and do not kill the fox. However, other hunters kill foxes, and fox hunting remains a controversial pastime. See Fox hunting.
Most foxes are about the same size. Gray foxes and red foxes, the most common kinds in the United States and Canada, grow from 23 to 27 inches (58 to 69 centimeters) long. The tail measures an additional 14 to 16 inches (36 to 41 centimeters). Most of these animals weigh from 8 to 11 pounds (3.6 to 5 kilograms).
The body of a fox
Most species of foxes resemble small, slender dogs. But unlike most dogs, foxes have a bushy tail. Foxes also have large, pointed ears and a long, sharp snout.
A fox has keen hearing and an excellent sense of smell. It depends especially on these two senses in locating prey. A red fox can hear a mouse squeak over 100 feet (30 meters) away. Foxes quickly see moving objects, but they might not notice objects that are motionless.
A fox has four toes and a toelike dewclaw on each front foot. The animal’s dewclaw is actually a nonmovable thumb and does not reach the ground. Each hind foot has only four toes. When a fox walks or trots, its hind paws step into the tracks of the front paws.
Most foxes carry their tails straight backward when running. The tail droops when the animal walks. A fox may sleep with its tail over its nose and front paws. Many foxes have a scent gland on the tail. Scent from this gland gives foxes a distinctive odor.
The life of a fox
Most knowledge about foxes comes from studies of the red fox. The information in this section refers mostly to the red fox, but other species of foxes do not differ greatly.
Foxes live in family groups while the young are growing up. At other times, they live alone or in pairs. They do not form packs as wolves do. A male and a female mate in early winter. They play together and cooperate in hunting. If one of a pair of foxes is chased by an enemy, its mate may dash out of a hiding place and lead the pursuers astray.
Foxes communicate with one another with growls, yelps, and short yapping barks. A fox also makes scent stations by urinating at various spots. The scent stations tell foxes in the area that another fox is present.
Young.
A female fox gives birth to her young in late winter or early spring. A young fox is usually called a pup, but may also be called a cub or a kit. Red foxes have from four to nine pups at a time, and gray foxes have from three to five. Both the vixen (female) and the dog (male) bring their pups food and lead enemies away from them.
A newborn fox weighs about 4 ounces (110 grams) and has a short muzzle and closed eyes. Its eyes open about nine days after birth. Pups drink the mother’s milk for about five weeks. Then they begin to eat some solid food and leave their den for short periods. Later, the pups wrestle with one another and pounce on insects, leaves, sticks, and their parents’ tails. The adults also bring live mice for the young to pounce on. Later, the adults show the pups how to stalk prey. The pups start to live on their own in late summer and may wander far from their place of birth. The parents may separate then or in early fall and rejoin during the winter.
Dens.
Foxes settle in dens after mating. A fox den may be underground, in a cave, among rocks, or in a hollow log or tree. Some red foxes dig their own dens, but most use burrows abandoned by such animals as woodchucks. The foxes may enlarge a burrow if necessary. An underground den may be as long as 75 feet (23 meters) and have several entrances. A main tunnel leads to several chambers that the animals use for nests and for storing food. Two pairs of red foxes may share one burrow. Gray foxes dig less than red foxes. Most gray foxes live in caves, rock piles, logs, or tree holes.
Many kinds of foxes live in dens only while raising pups. After the pups have grown old enough to hunt for themselves, the adults and the pups both sleep in the open most of the time.
Food.
Foxes eat almost any animal they can catch easily, especially mice and other kinds of rodents. They also hunt birds, frogs, insects, lizards, and rabbits. Foxes also eat many kinds of fruit and the remains of dead animals. Most species hide the uneaten parts of their prey. They dig a shallow hole, drop the meat in, and spread dirt over it. A fox returns to the stored food, both to feed and, apparently, to check on it.
Foxes may prey on farmers’ chickens if the birds roam freely or if the chicken coops are not closed tightly. But foxes help farmers by eating mice and rats. In some areas where foxes had been killed off, rodents increased so much that farmers brought in other foxes.
Hunting.
Foxes hunt mostly at night and remain active the year around. They often roam grassy meadows and listen for the squeaks of mice. The grass conceals the mice, but if a fox sees a slight movement of blades of grass, it jumps onto the spot. Foxes sometimes stand on their hind legs to get a better view in tall grass. A fox also may lie in wait and pounce on a ground squirrel or a woodchuck as the victim leaves its burrow.
Kinds of foxes
Red foxes
live throughout most of Asia, Europe, and northern North America. They are the most common foxes of Canada and the northern United States.
The majority of red foxes have bright rusty-red or red-orange fur, with whitish fur on the belly. They have blackish legs and a white tip on the tail. But not all red foxes have red coats. Some, called silver foxes, have coats of black fur tipped with white. Silver foxes may appear blackish, gray, or frosty silver, depending on the length of the white tips. Silver foxes with black fur are called black foxes. Other red foxes, called cross foxes, have rusty-red coats with a large black cross at the shoulders. The cross extends down the middle of the back. Silver foxes, cross foxes, and typical red foxes may be born at the same time to the same parents. See Red fox.
Kit foxes,
also called swift foxes, roam the grasslands and deserts of western North America. The kit fox has sandy yellow-gray fur with a black tip on the tail. This fox, a close relative of the red fox, measures from 15 to 20 inches (38 to 51 centimeters) long, not including a tail 11 inches (28 centimeters) long. It weighs from 4 to 6 pounds (1.8 to 2.7 kilograms). This animal got its name because of its small size. The word kit means a young or small furry animal. 
Gray foxes
live throughout most of the United States, Mexico, and Central America, and in part of northern South America. Some live in the far southern parts of Canada. They are the most common foxes of the southern United States. The gray fox’s back is the color of salt and pepper mixed together. Its underparts are whitish. The sides of the neck, shoulders, and legs, and the tail’s underside are rust-colored. The tail has a black tip. This fox is also called the tree fox because it climbs trees. See Gray fox.
Arctic foxes
live in the far northern regions of Asia, Europe, and North America. The long fur of the Arctic fox’s coat protects the animal from the extreme cold. The Arctic fox has shorter, more rounded ears than most other foxes. These small ears let less body heat escape than larger ears would. Arctic foxes are about the same size as red foxes. See Arctic fox.
Fennecs,
the smallest kind of foxes, live in the deserts of North Africa and Arabia. A fennec grows only about 16 inches (41 centimeters) long and weighs 2 to 3 pounds (0.9 kilogram to 1.4 kilograms). It has pale sandy fur with whitish underparts. Its ears are 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 centimeters) long. Fennecs have a large surface area through which they can lose body heat to keep from becoming overheated. See Fennec.
Bat-eared foxes,
also called big-eared foxes, live in dry areas of eastern and southern Africa. A bat-eared fox has large ears that resemble those of a fennec. It has a gray-brown back and sandy underparts. This animal is about the size of a red fox. Bat-eared foxes feed mostly on insects, especially termites. They also eat fruits and such rodents as mice and rats. Bat-eared foxes can change direction sharply while running at full speed, and this ability helps them catch rodents. See Bat-eared fox.
Raccoon dogs,
which live in eastern Asia, have chunky, grayish bodies and masked faces that make them look like raccoons. But these animals are closely related to foxes, not raccoons. A raccoon dog measures about 22 inches (56 centimeters) long, not including a tail 6 inches (15 centimeters) long. It weighs up to 18 pounds (8 kilograms). Raccoon dogs that live in places with bitter cold winters sleep during much of the winter. See Raccoon dog.
South American “foxes”
are not true foxes, but they resemble foxes. They include several grayish or brownish animals of various sizes. The largest one, the maned wolf, grows as long as 4 feet (1.2 meters) and may weigh 50 pounds (23 kilograms). It is called a wolf because of its large size, but it looks like a long-legged red fox. It has long, yellowish-orange fur that grows especially long and manelike along the middle of its back. The maned wolf has such long legs in proportion to its body that it is often called the “fox that walks on stilts.” It feeds on insects, small animals, and fruits.
