GENERAL INFORMATION

Red foxes are found throughout much of North America. They occur throughout most of the Carolina mountains and Piedmont but are rare to absent in the eastern coastal plain. The red fox is one of two fox species found in the southern mountains. The other, the gray fox, is sometimes mistaken for the red fox, but is somewhat different in appearance and frequents slightly different habitats. DESCRIPTION
The red fox resembles a bushy-tailed, medium sized dog. The usual coloration is a bright rusty-red with black feet and legs and and a whitish belly. A good identifying feature is the long tail which is tipped with white. Other color varieties of the red fox also occur including a black, a silver, and a cross phase in which a dark area crosses over the shoulders and down the middle of the back. Red foxes measure in total length from about 39 to 41 inches and weigh between 10 and 15 pounds. 

HABITS AND HABITATS

The red fox is a quick, skillful hunter, feeding on a wide variety of foods. Mice are often eaten, especially during the winter months and cottontail rabbits are also an important part of their diet. During the warmer months, red foxes feed on various plants and insects. They remain active throughout the year but are primarily nocturnal, only occasionally coming out during the daylight hours. Red foxes have the reputation of being cunning, but shy. Like most other members of the wild dog family, they seem to be quite intelligent and are very adaptable, often learning to live quite close to humans. The males and females pair for life, usually breeding in late winter. Red foxes dig a den or often utilize an abandoned groundhog burrow or other similar location to raise their young. The young foxes, averaging 4 or 5 in number, are born after a gestation period of 52 days. Both of the parents help to care for the pups, although the male provides most of the food for both the pups and the female until the pups are old enough to stay alone for short periods of time. After they are about a month old, the young pups begin to venture outside the den. By late summer or early fall, the pups are old enough to leave the den and begin living alone. Red foxes seem to prefer somewhat open habitats and are not creatures of dense forests. They are found mostly in areas with interspersed croplands, old fields, and woodlots, especially along the edges formed by these habitats.

HISTORY

Red foxes probably were not found in the southern Appalachian mountains before colonial times. European settlers released red foxes brought from Europe and other parts of northern North America into the eastern United States. Red foxes were imported primarily for the sport of hunting, an activity that had long been a popular pastime in Europe. Since then, the red fox has been gradually expanding it's range. Fox hunting is still a popular sport today. Hounds are used to chase the fox while the hunters follow, usually on horseback or sometimes on foot. The object of the hunt is often just to chase the fox, many times the fox is not actually taken. Besides being a game animal, red foxes are also considered furbearers and are taken during regulated trapping seasons. They are also raised on game farms for their pelts. In years past, foxes, like many other predators, were viewed as undesirable animals and bounties were often paid to eliminate them. We now understand better the role that foxes and other predators play in the ecology of our forests.

MEET OUR RED FOX

The Nature Center's red fox is a male and came to us as a 5 month old juvenile in August of 1990. He was donated to the center by Bay's Mountain Park in Kingsport, Tennessee. Now fully mature, he is a beautiful specimen, with a luxurious red coat and golden eyes. He spends most of his day resting and quietly observing visitors, becoming more active in the late afternoon. He also spends a great deal of time "marking his territory", as is evident from the pungent odor (often mistaken as a skunk) emanating from his cage Our red fox receives a balanced diet of dry dog food, peanuts, fruits, and a commercially prepared ground meat product designed for captive carnivores.

INFORMATION LINKS

National Fox Welfare Society (British)
Vulpes.Org

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©2002 WNC Nature Center