The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is a predator, a mammal, a member of the Canidae family, and the largest of the true foxes. Their body length reaches almost one meter, the tail is from 40 to 60 cm, and the weight ranges between 6 and 10 kg. Females are slightly lighter and smaller than males.
The fox has large eyes with a vertical pupil and excellent vision. The animal has forty-two teeth that help it to tear through any kind of food. The predator has triangular, slightly elongated ears that are quite large.
Foxes have quick reflexes, which help them even in the dead of night. However, oddly enough, when walking and hunting, foxes are used to relying not on eyesight, but on other senses — those of smell and touch. They have excellent hearing and a nose that is very sensitive to smells.
Foxes have a really diverse diet. They feed on small rodents, hares, birds, insects, and plants, such as fruits, berries, and various roots. The fox favors living in the open, in areas with groves, copses, hills and ravines, especially if the snow layer in winter is not too deep.
The animal has a light, slim body. Red foxes frequently travel in a direct register trot, where the rear foot lands squarely on top of where the front foot had stepped, so that the prints make an even chain. Foxes are mostly active at night. They hunt at dusk, and during the day they prefer to rest in their burrows, which are usually quite long and have several separate chambers. Their burrows are often dug on hill or mountain slopes and ravines.
Burrows are a main refuge from danger and a home for future offspring. The average litter size consists of up to six kits. They live with their mother in one of the den chambers and rely on milk for nourishment until they are one and a half months old. After this stage, they start encountering meat.
Both the adult male and female fox share the responsibility of feeding the young. They have to hunt almost 24 hours a day. Red foxes help to control populations of their prey animals, such as rodents and rabbits. Foxes are preyed upon by wolves, lynxes, wolverines, bears and other predators that surpass them in strength and size.
The fox has large eyes with a vertical pupil and excellent vision. The animal has forty-two teeth that help it to tear through any kind of food. The predator has triangular, slightly elongated ears that are quite large.
Foxes have quick reflexes, which help them even in the dead of night. However, oddly enough, when walking and hunting, foxes are used to relying not on eyesight, but on other senses — those of smell and touch. They have excellent hearing and a nose that is very sensitive to smells.
Foxes have a really diverse diet. They feed on small rodents, hares, birds, insects, and plants, such as fruits, berries, and various roots. The fox favors living in the open, in areas with groves, copses, hills and ravines, especially if the snow layer in winter is not too deep.
The animal has a light, slim body. Red foxes frequently travel in a direct register trot, where the rear foot lands squarely on top of where the front foot had stepped, so that the prints make an even chain. Foxes are mostly active at night. They hunt at dusk, and during the day they prefer to rest in their burrows, which are usually quite long and have several separate chambers. Their burrows are often dug on hill or mountain slopes and ravines.
Burrows are a main refuge from danger and a home for future offspring. The average litter size consists of up to six kits. They live with their mother in one of the den chambers and rely on milk for nourishment until they are one and a half months old. After this stage, they start encountering meat.
Both the adult male and female fox share the responsibility of feeding the young. They have to hunt almost 24 hours a day. Red foxes help to control populations of their prey animals, such as rodents and rabbits. Foxes are preyed upon by wolves, lynxes, wolverines, bears and other predators that surpass them in strength and size.
