Red Fox

Red foxes typically eat small rodents and rabbits, but will also eat insects, fruit, and carrion (dead animals).

At the Zoo, fox nutrition includes a combination of canine-safe fruits and vegetables, cooked chicken, and raw red meat. Their diets are supplemented with puppy kibble to ensure they get all the necessary nutrients. 

Red foxes have the widest geographical range of any member of the canid family. The species is distributed across the entire northern hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to southern North America, Europe, North Africa, the Asiatic steppes, India, and Japan. Red foxes were introduced to Australia and the Falkland Islands.

Foxes are found in a wide variety of habitats, including forests, tundras, prairies, mountains, farmlands, and urban areas.

Most predation happens to young foxes, primarily from wolves, coyotes, and other large carnivores. However, the biggest threat to foxes comes from humans, who hunt them for their fur or because they see them as pests.

Foxes face several dangers, including habitat destruction and fragmentation. As people develop land and expand into natural areas, we often come across more wild animals, like foxes, in our neighborhoods. It’s important for us to learn how to live alongside these wild neighbors!

Red foxes come in different colors, such as red, black, gray, and silver. The lower part of their legs is usually black, and their tails have either a white or black tip. They have special glands in their tails that release a smell similar to that of a skunk. Foxes use this scent to communicate and mark their territory.

Males are slightly larger than females. Red fox populations in southern deserts and North America tend to be smaller compared to those found in Europe.

Breeding habits can vary among different species in different regions. In the southern areas, it happens between December and January, in the central regions from January to February, and in the northern parts from February to April. Female animals often mate with several males but usually choose one male to stay with. The female stays close to the den before and after she gives birth. Meanwhile, the male helps by bringing her food, but does not enter the den where the pups are born.

After about 50 days of pregnancy, females usually give birth to between two and a dozen pups, with an average of five. The pups are born blind but start to open their eyes after about 9 to 14 days. They leave the den around 4 to 5 weeks after birth and are fully weaned by 8 to 10 weeks. The mother and her pups stay together until autumn after they are born. The pups reach sexual maturity at around 10 months old.

Red foxes have 28 different types of vocalizations and use facial expressions and scent marking to communicate with each other.

Red foxes are solitary animals, except for family groups raising young. Red fox families work together to care for their young. After a female gives birth, she stays in the den to nurse her pups for the first month while the male and older offspring bring her food. To help growing pups learn to find food, the adults bury extra food near the den, covering it with leaves. This teaches young foxes to sniff out food on their own.