Red fox - Characteristics, habitat and food

The red fox or common fox ( Vulpes vulpes ) is a mammal belonging to the family of the canidos and is the most studied of its genus ( Vulpes ).This beautiful animal is easily recognizable by its reddish fur and its stylized bearing.Due to the destruction of its habitat and the lack of food resources, the fox is getting closer to urban areas, where garbage abounds that, sadly, is the main food of many populations.

In this Animals and Pets Online record we will talk about the red fox or common fox .We will learn their origin, as they are, where they live, what they feed on and many other curiosities.

Origin of the red fox

The red fox is the most widely distributed carnivore in the world.It inhabits all of Europe, Asia, North Africa, North America and Oceania.A Australia came from the hand of the human being in 1868 and has been extended by much of the continent.In North America, we can find them all over Canada and the United States.The red fox in Spain inhabits various regions, including forest means and high mountain areas, up to 3,000 meters altitude.

It is originally from the Old World.Its ancestral form was probably small, according to the fossil record dating back 300 thousand years.Outside of Europe, the fossils found are 400 thousand years ago.they arrived in America 122 thousand years ago.

Characteristics of the red fox

The common fox is a relatively small mammal, weighing between 3 and 14 kilograms.Its snout is elongated, the ears are large and pointed, the tail is long, almost as much as the body.Its legs with tall and thin, they are good runners and jumpers.

In the red fox, shades of yellow to reddish brown predominate in the upper body.The cheeks, chin, throat and abdomen are white The face and area of the rump have a slightly rusty color.The legs and the tips of the ears are black.At the end of the tail they have a very distinctive plume of white hair .

It shows a wide variation in size according to the individual and the geographical area.The length of the head and body in adults can vary from 0.45 to 0.90 meters, the length of the tail is 0.30 at 0.55 meters and body mass from 3 to 14 kg .Males are, on average, larger than females, but there are no other associated variations with sex.

Red Fox Habitat

The common fox is one of the species with the greatest capacity to adapt to the environment.We can find it in all kinds of natural habitats such as forests, pastures, mountains, plains, beaches, desert or semi-desert areas, cultivation areas , tundra, etc.They can also live in urban and suburban areas.Foxes like heterogeneous and fragmented habitats.The availability of dams is the most important factor affecting the habitat.

Red fox feeding

The red fox has a varied diet, rabbits, hares, squirrels, mice, rats and other small mammals are the most important part of their diet.Occasionally they also consume mustelids, raccoons, opossums and musk rats.In certain areas and specific enepocas they can also eat birds.

They supplement their diet with wild fruits, insects, crustaceans, worms and fish.

Red fox reproduction

They are seasonally monogamous, that is, during the breeding season they are with a single partner.The reproductive period in foxes in temperate climates occurs between December and April, with the majority of the copulae occurring during the months of January and February .

The females are monostric, have only one zeal that lasts between 1 and 6 days.The copula lasts about 26 minutes on average and the gestation lasts 52 days.The average number of offspring is related to the health of the female.The abundance of food, sexual immaturity and population density affect the reproductive capacity.

Can the red fox be a pet?

Due to the popularity of these animals on the net, more and more people are wondering if it is right to have a red fox as a pet, however, we must remember that it is wild animals not domesticated , so from Animals and Pets Online we do not advise the possession of foxes as domestic animals.The same goes for the different species of foxes that exist, such as the desert fox, the gray fox or the fox, none of them should be considered a company animal.

Bibliography

Hersteinsson, P.,&Macdonald, DW (1992).Intepecific competition and the geographical distribution of red and arctic foxes Vulpes vulpes and Alopex lagopus.Oikos, 505-515.
Lariviere, S.,&Pasitschniak-Arts, M.(1996).Vulpes vulpes.Mammalian species, ( 537), 1-11.
Lopez-Martin, JM (2017).Fox-Vulpes vulpes.In: Virtual Encyclopedia of the Spanish Vertebrates.Salvador, A., Barja, I.(Eds.).National Museum of Natural Sciences, Madrid.http://www.vertebradosibericos.org/
Trewhella, WJ, Harris, S.,&Amp; McAllister, FE (1988).Dispersal distance, home-range size and population density in the red fox (Vulpes vu lpes): a quantitative analysis.Journal of Applied Ecology, 423-434.

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