100 Most Interesting Facts About Foxes

100 Most Interesting Facts About Foxes

A male fox is called a 'dog fox' or a 'tod'.
Fox babies are called 'pups' 'kits' or 'cubs'.
Arctic foxes don't get cold until it reaches -94°F. Arctic foxes are found across the arctic, including Europe, Asia, North America, Greenland, and Iceland. The white coat of the arctic fox helps protect them against predators as they can blend in with the snow. Their coats also change with the seasons, becoming brown so they can hide in rocks without being seen.
In urban areas, dens are usually found in bushes or under sheds and sometimes even under tree roots and railway embankments.
Unlike many animals, foxes are one of few animals that easily adapt to human impacts on their environment.
Foxes can be found in most of the Northern Hemisphere, all the way from North America to Europe, and Asia. The highest northern point you will find foxes at is the Arctic circle, and the lowest southern points are the Eurasian Steppes, Central America and North Africa.
Foxes have a reputation of being very cunning, which we see in phrases like "sly as a fox."
The most famous song about a fox is 'What Does the Fox Say?' by Ylvis.
There is a constellation called Vulpecula which translates to "little fox".
Canids (foxes, dogs, wolves and jackals) are usually carnivores, but they can also adapt to whatever their surroundings provide to them. Most of a fox's diet is made up of meat, but they do eat other foods too. This is why foxes are able to survive all the way from deserts to the arctic.
Foxes hunt the same way cats do, by following their prey and pouncing on them.
While foxes are classified in the Carnivora order, they aren't actually carnivores. Foxes are omnivores, meaning they eat meat and plants.
Foxes adapt quite well to their surroundings and will eat pretty much anything. From worms, berries and rabbits, spiders, lizards, rats and anything else you serve them up; foxes will dig into anything! Foxes also hide food in their dens so they can snack on it later.
'The Little Prince' is one of the most well known stories that features a fox. In this story, the fox teaches the Little Prince many valuable lessons.
Other fox adaptations for kids include 'Fantastic Mr Fox', 'Zootopia', 'The Fox And The Hound' and Disney's 'Robin Hood'.
Bat-eared foxes are also famous for their big, five inch long ears. Like the Fennec fox, they are used to help them find insects, just like bats. Their official name is Otocyon megalotis and in Greek, this translates to "dog with big ears".
Charles Darwin found a fox in South America and named it Darwin's fox. These gray foxes are now an endangered species and can only be found in two places in Chile. The biggest threats to these foxes are domestic dogs carrying diseases.
The Sierra Nevada red fox (also known as the cross fox), is the rarest fox in the world and is close to extinction. It is believed that there are only about 50 left across North America, as the majority were hunted for their bright orange and black coats.
The black fox (also known as the silver fox) is a form of red fox, even though they have gray fur!
Fox habitats are called 'dens' or 'earths'.
Foxes usually build their dens in forests by digging underground burrows that they can live in and that provide a cool space to sleep.
Foxes have 28 different calls that they use to talk to each other.
Foxes also have great eyesight, and their pupil shape allows them to see in very dim light.
Foxes can't see when they are born and baby foxes eyes don't open until nine days after they are born.
Foxes can run up to speeds of 30 miles an hour!
Scientists believe that foxes may have had relationships with humans before dogs did. There are 16,500 year old remains of a man and his pet fox in Jordan, which is 4000 years older than any dog and human remains we have found that have been buried together.
Foxes are very playful animals. They have been found to play with foxes, other animals and even humans. They sometimes even steal balls from golf courses and backyards to play with.
One fun fact about red foxes is that they choose to mate with one other red fox for their whole life. They also grin when they are afraid.
Foxes communicate with different facial expressions and postures just like dogs. They wag their tails when they are happy and also act aggressively to foxes that they do not know.
While foxes are usually pretty silent, they do still make a lot of sounds, including barking cubs, warning calls and mating calls.
Foxes use their urine and poop to mark their territory. A female fox even uses their poop to signal that they are ready to mate. Foxes also use scent-marking to communicate with other animals that this is their land.
Facts About Fox Habitat
Sadly, some cruel people continue to hunt foxes and ridiculously call it a “sport”. In 2004, a law was enacted in England and Wales to ban hunting foxes with dogs, an activity in which hunters would ride on horses following a number of dogs who would pursue the exhausted fox before ripping the animal apart. However, hunters can still hunt and kill foxes by other means. Fox hunting with dogs is still legal in many other places, such as Ireland, North America and Australia.
Foxes eat just about anything, including berries, worms, spiders and small animals such as mice and birds. If they live in the city, they eat rubbish that people leave out. If they have extra food, they hide it in a small hole and eat it later when they are hungry.
Foxes have beautiful fur, and as a result, the heartless fur industry both breeds captive foxes and traps foxes in the wild. Eighty-five percent of the fur industry’s skins come from animals living in captivity on fur factory farms. At these farms, animals are kept in small cages and are unable to take more than a few steps back and forth. Because fur farmers care only about preserving the quality of the fur, they use slaughter methods such as anal electrocution that keep the fur intact but result in extreme suffering for the animals.
Foxes might seem quite large from a distance, but they are actually pretty small.
A male fox's head is usually 26 to 28 inches while a female's is usually 24 to 26 inches.
Foxes' tails make up a third of their whole body length. The tail of a male fox is 15 to 17 inches long, while a female's is 14 to 16 inches. The tail of a red fox makes up half their body length.
While we see our world mainly through sight, the main senses for a fox are hearing and smell.
Foxes are able to smell food even when it is buried underground. Their sense of smell is so strong!
Foxes are medium sized canids, usually between seven and 15 pounds, with pointy noses, thin bodies and bushy tails.
Foxes have babies once a year. Most foxes have around six babies in one litter, but it can be anywhere from one to 11. Late winter and early spring are usually when red foxes will breed. When the cubs are born, the foxes will keep them in the den for around eight weeks.
Foxes are nocturnal animals, meaning they are most active during the night, just like cats.
They are also solitary animals, meaning they sleep and hunt alone and only stay in packs when they are raising their cubs.
Foxes are generally solitary animals; unlike wolves, they hunt on their own rather than in packs
Foxes dig underground dens where they take care of their kits and hide from predators
Their pupils are vertical, similar to a cat, helping them to see well at night
The tip of a red fox’s tail is white, whereas swift foxes have a black-tipped tail
Foxes have excellent hearing. Red foxes can reportedly hear a watch ticking 40 yards away!
Foxes stink, their funny ‘musky’ smell comes from scent glands at the base of their tail
Foxes are members of the dog family. A female fox is called a “vixen”, a male fox is called a “dog fox” or a “tod” and baby foxes are called “pups”, “kits” or “cubs”. A group of foxes is called a “skulk” or a “leash”.
Foxes are the only type of dog capable of retracting their claws like cats do. Foxes also have vertical pupils that look more like those of cats than the rounded pupils that other dogs have.
There are many different types of foxes, and they are the most widespread species of wild dog in the world. Foxes live just about everywhere – in the countryside, cities, forests, mountains and grasslands. Arctic foxes live in cold climates far north, and fennec foxes live in the North African desert.
This animal uses the earth's magnetic fields to find prey as it helps them judge distance and direction when hunting.
While there are 37 different types of foxes, only 12 are considered to be "true" foxes of the Vulpes genus.
The 12 true foxes are the Red fox, Fennec fox, Pale fox, Cape fox, Ruppell's fox, Tibetan sand fox, Arctic fox, Bengal fox, Blanford’s fox, Corsac fox, Kit fox and the Swift fox.
The most common fox is the red fox of which there are more than 280 types in the Carnivora order.
Red foxes are listed in the top 100 most invasive species in the world and you can even find them in Australia.
The Fennec fox is the smallest fox and weighs less than three pounds. They are one of the cutest foxes and are around the same size as a kitten, but with very big ears. The ears help them hear prey and even release body heat. They also have fur covered paws that work almost like shoes, so they can walk on the hot sand.
Foxes have whiskers on their legs and face, which help them to navigate retract their claws like cats do.
When fox pups are born, they are unable to see, hear or walk, and their mother must take good care of them. When the pups are young, their father hunts and brings food back for the family.
Grey foxes who live in North America are the only type of dogs who can climb trees!
A fox’s home is called a “den”. It can be a hole in the ground or elsewhere, such as under a garden shed. Hunters often try to scare foxes out of their dens by sending in dogs so that the hunter can then shoot the foxes. Sometimes the foxes remain in the den and are injured or killed by the dogs.
Foxes show great caring, adaptability and intelligence when raising their young. The Daily Mail reported in May 2009 that a baby fox cub was caught in a snare for two weeks before being rescued by the RSPCA. He was unable to escape and was badly injured. He survived only because his mother brought him food while he was trapped.
Foxes are part of the Canidae family, which is the same family as dogs, wolves and jackals.
While foxes can live for up to 14 years, in the wild they usually only live for a few years.
The fox, though very small, has some pretty cool biological features that will definitely surprise your kids.

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