Red Fox
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- For other uses, see (disambiguation)}}}.
Like other wild animals, foxes are considered vectors of disease. Red Foxes help farmers by preying on animals that damage crops but are considered to be a pest by farmers involved in poultry farming. Red foxes are of some importance in the fur industry.
Greater visibility in nature documentaries and sympathetic have improved the Red Fox's reputation and appeal in recent years. A prominent cultural impact is that on fox hunting which became illegal in Scotland in August 2002 and in England and Wales in February 2005.
According to the Australian Government, red foxes were introduced to Australia for hunting in 1855, but have since become wide-spread, and are considered responsible for the decline in a number of species of native animals. In a program known as Western Shield, Western Australia state government authorities conduct aerial and hand baiting on almost 3.5 million hectares (8.75 million acres) to control foxes and feral cats. The West Australian conservation department, CALM, estimates introduced predators are responsible for the extinction of 10 native species in that state, while Western Shield targets the conservation of 16 others. In Tasmania, the possibility of foxes in the wild has caused considerable concern as the island state had been fox-free for a considerable tme in its history
Distribution
The largest species within the genus Vulpes, Red Foxes have a native range spanning most of North America and Eurasia, with several populations in North Africa.A subspecies, the Japanese Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes japonica) migrated from India to China and eventually to Japan. It is also known by the Japanese name kitsune (狐).
Three subspecies of Red Fox are found in India :-
- Vulpes vulpes montana or the Tibetan Fox. Found in Ladakh and the Himalayas.
- Vulpes vulpes griffithi or the Kashmir Fox. Found in Jammu and Kashmir less the Ladakh sector.
- Vulpes vulpes pusilla or the Desert Fox. Found in the Thar desert of Rajasthan and in Kutch, Gujarat.
Physical description
Red foxes are most commonly a rusty red, with white underbelly, black ear tips and legs, and a bushy tail with a distinctive white tip. The "red" tone can vary from crimson to golden, and in fact can be brindled or agouti, with bands of red, brown, black and white on each individual hair when seen close up.In the wild, two other color phases are also seen. The first is silver or black, silver foxes, comprising 10% of the wild population and most of the farmed. Approximately 30% of wild individuals have additional black patterning, which usually manifests as a stripe across the shoulders and down the center of the back. This pattern forms a "cross" over the shoulders, hence the term "cross fox". "Domesticated" or farmed stock may be almost any color, including spotted, or "marbled", varieties.
Their eyes are gold to yellow and have distinctive vertically slit pupils, similar to those of a feline. They can see just as well too, and combined with their extreme agility for a canid the red fox has been referred to as "the cat-like canid". Their long bushy tails with distinctive white tips provide balance for acrobatic leaps and bounds. Their strong legs allow them to reach speeds of 45 miles per hour. That amazing speed makes it easy for them to catch their prey or to outrun their predators.
Red foxes may reach an adult weight of 2.7–6.8 kilograms ([6–15 pounds]), but this may change from region to region. They vary greatly in size, with red foxes in Europe being larger, on average, than those in North America.
During the fall and winter, red foxes will grow more fur. This so-called 'winter fur' keeps the animal warm in the colder environment. The foxes shed this fur at the onset of spring, reverting back to the short fur for the duration of the summer.
Habitat and diet
Red Foxes are found in a variety of biomes, from prairies and scrubland to forest settings. They are most suited to lower latitudes but do venture considerably far north, competing directly with the Arctic Fox on the tundra. Red Foxes have also become a familiar sight in suburban and even urban environments, sharing territory with the much maligned raccoon.
Red Foxes eat rodents, insects, fruits, worms, eggs, mice, birds, and other small animals. They have 42 very powerful teeth that they use to catch their food. The foxes regularly consume from 0.5–1 kilograms (1–2 pounds) of food per day.
In recent decades, many foxes have established themselves in urban neighbourhoods in Britain. These urban foxes probably depend mainly on scavenging household waste, though they will also take rodents and birds from gardens and wasteland.
Since they are so adaptable they have a strong population that is above 20 million.
Behaviour
Living as they do in a wide variety of habitats, red foxes display a wide variety of behaviours. In Biology and Conservation of Wild Canids, MacDonald and Sillero-Zubiri state that two populations of red foxes may be behaviorally as different as two species.Being primarily crepuscular with a tendency to becoming nocturnal in areas of great human interference (and artificial lighting), red foxes are most active at night and at twilight. They are generally solitary hunters. If a fox catches more food than it can eat, it will bury the extra food (cache) to store it for later.
In general, each fox claims its own territory; foxes pair up only in winter and in summer they forage alone. Territories may be as large as 50 square kilometres (19 square miles); ranges are much smaller (<12 square kilometres (4.6 square miles)) in habitats with abundant food sources, however. Several dens are utilized within these territories; dens may be claimed from previous residents such as marmots, or dug anew. A larger main den is used for winter living, birthing and rearing of young; smaller dens are dispersed throughout the territory for emergency and food storage purposes. A series of tunnels often connects them with the main den.
Red foxes have been considered a monogamous species however, evidences for polygamy (polygyny and polyandry) includes males’ extra territorial movements during breeding season (possibly searching additional mates) and males’ home ranges overlapping two or more females’ home range. Such variability is thought to be linked to variation in the spatial availability of key resources such as food.Macdonald & Reynolds (2004). [Vulpes vulpes]. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 09 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
Red foxes primarily form monogamous pairs each winter, which cooperate to raise a litter of 4-6 kits (also called pups) each year; but in various locales and for various incompletely-explored reasons they may also practice polygamy (multiple males sharing a single female and/or vice versa). Sometimes young foxes disperse promptly on maturity (approx. 8-10 months); sometimes they remain on their natal territory and assist in raising the next year's offspring.
The reason for this "group living" behaviour is not agreed upon; some researchers believe the non-breeders boost the survival rate of the litters while others believe there is no significant difference, and such arrangements are made spontaneously due to a resource surplus.
Socially, foxes communicate with body language and a variety of vocalizations. Their vocal range is quite large and their noises vary from a distinctive three-yip "lost call" to a shriek reminiscent of a human scream. They also communicate with scent, marking food and territorial boundary lines with urine and feces.
Reproduction
The Red Fox's breeding period varies widely due to its broad distribution; southern populations breed from December to January, central populations from January to February and northern populations from February to April. Females have an annual estrous period of between 1–6 days; ovulation is spontaneous. Copulation is loud and short, usually lasting no more than 20 seconds. Although a female may mate with several males (who fight amongst each other for the right), she will eventually settle with one only.
Males will supply food to females up to and after birthing, otherwise leaving the female alone with her kits (also called cubs or pups) in a "maternity den". An average litter size is 5 kits, but may be as large as 13. Kits are born blind and may weigh as much as 150 grams (0.33 pounds). Their eyes are open by two weeks and the kits have taken their first exploratory steps out of the den by five weeks; by 10 weeks they are fully weaned.
In autumn of the same year, the young foxes will disperse and claim their own territories. Red Foxes reach sexual maturity by 10 months of age, and may live for 12 years in captivity but usually live 3 years in the wild.
See also
References
- Menon, Vivek. A Field Guide to Indian Mammals. Dorling Kindersley, Delhi, 2003.
- [Australian Department of the Environment and Heritage fact sheet, 2004]
External link
- [Vulpes vulpes (TSN 180604)]. Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 18 March 2006.
- [The Fox Forest].
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