Everything You Need To Know About Foxes

Everything You Need To Know About Foxes

1. Habitat: The fox is usually red-brown but there are white foxes. The fox can live in very varied places: in the mountains, parks, or woods. He lives in a burrow that often has 3 to 4 entrances. The burrow is not always busy although it is the females who stay the longest in their habitat to have their young. The vixen lines the burrow with her fur to welcome her babies. During the day, the fox usually shelters under under roots or in a wooden embankment.

2. A varied diet: The fox's diet is very varied: rodents, birds, insects, eggs, and earthworms. They don't often eat moles but they do kill hedgehogs. In the city, the fox can search bins for food. In summer and spring the fox eats fruits fallen from trees (apples, plums, berries, and etc.). The fox likes to vary his food and often hides what he finds to give it to the vixen. It is more often males that hunt and travel to find food.

3. Reproduction: Males mate from December to February. The duration of gestation is 52 days and the female can carry 4 to 5 pups. The female may have only one litter per year. Babies weigh 100g at birth and have dark brown fur. The face of the fox does not turn red until the fourth week when the snout elongates. Babies are born deaf and blind and need their mother for the first three weeks. They are weaned after 6 weeks and start eating meat at 4 weeks.

4. Living in groups: After 4 weeks, the female leaves the burrow more to encourage the babies to go out. The male plays with his young and teaches them to hunt. In a group of foxes, there are usually five females but only one female has babies. Those who do not reproduce can feed, lick and care for the young. They can even adopt them when babies are orphaned.