Red fox

{{Short description|Species of mammal}} {{Other uses|Red Fox (disambiguation)}}{{Good article}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}} {{Speciesbox | fossil_range = {{Fossil range|0.7}} Middle Pleistocene – present | image = Portrait of a red fox in Rautas fjällurskog (cropped).jpg | image_caption = In Rautas Fjällurskog Nature Reserve, Sweden | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn |title=''Vulpes vulpes'' |amends=2016 |author=Hoffmann, M. |author2=Sillero-Zubiri, C. |name-list-style=amp |year=2021|article-number=e.T23062A193903628|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T23062A193903628.en|access-date=17 February 2022}}</ref> | status2 = G5 | status2_system = TNC | status2_ref = <ref name="NatureServe">{{cite web|title=Vulpes vulpes|url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.105935/Vulpes_vulpes|website=NatureServe Explorer|access-date=17 April 2024}}</ref> | genus = Vulpes | species = vulpes | authority = (Linnaeus, 1758)<ref>{{cite book | last = Linnaeus | first = Carl | author-link = Carl Linnaeus | year=1758 |title=Caroli Linnæi Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis |volume=Tomus I |edition=decima, reformata |location=Holmiae |publisher=Laurentius Salvius |page=40 |chapter=''Canis Vulpes'' |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/mobot31753000798865#page/40/mode/1up |language=la}}</ref> | subdivision_ranks = Subspecies | subdivision = {{center|45 subspecies}} | range_map = Wiki-Vulpes vulpes.png | range_map_caption = Distribution of the red fox <div style="width:9em;margin:0 auto;text-align:left;white-space:nowrap;">{{legend2|#3c5604|native}} {{legend2|#491fbc|introduced}} {{legend2|#b46702|presence uncertain}}</div> | synonyms = * ''Canis vulpes'' Linnaeus, 1758 * ''Canis alopex'' Linnaeus, 1758 | audio = FuchsSchreit.mp3 | audio_caption = Calls }}

The '''red fox''' ('''''Vulpes vulpes''''') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora. It is present across the entire Northern Hemisphere, including most of North America, Europe and Asia, as well as parts of North Africa. Its range has expanded alongside human settlement, with the species having been introduced to Australia, where it preys on native small and medium-sized rodents and marsupials. The red fox is listed as of least concern on the IUCN Red List.<ref name=IUCN/> Because of its impact on native species, it is also included on the list of the "world's 100 worst invasive species".<ref>{{Cite web |title=100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species |url=https://www.iucngisd.org/gisd/100_worst.php |access-date=2024-06-17 |website=Global Invasive Species Database}}</ref>

The red fox originated in Eurasia during the Middle Pleistocene at least 400,000 years ago<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bartolini Lucenti |first1=Saverio |last2=Madurell-Malapeira |first2=Joan |date=May 2020 |title=Unraveling the fossil record of foxes: An updated review on the Plio-Pleistocene Vulpes spp. from Europe |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0277379120302584 |journal=Quaternary Science Reviews |volume=236 |article-number=106296 |doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106296|bibcode=2020QSRv..23606296B |url-access=subscription }}</ref> and later colonised North America sometime prior to 130,000 years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kutschera |first1=Verena E |last2=Lecomte |first2=Nicolas |last3=Janke |first3=Axel |last4=Selva |first4=Nuria |last5=Sokolov |first5=Alexander A |last6=Haun |first6=Timm |last7=Steyer |first7=Katharina |last8=Nowak |first8=Carsten |last9=Hailer |first9=Frank |date=2013 |title=A range-wide synthesis and timeline for phylogeographic events in the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) |journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology |volume=13 |issue=1 |page=114 |doi=10.1186/1471-2148-13-114 |doi-access=free |issn=1471-2148 |pmc=3689046 |pmid=23738594|bibcode=2013BMCEE..13..114K }}</ref> Among the true foxes, the red fox represents a more progressive form in the direction of carnivory.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr">{{cite book |last1=Heptner |first1=V. G. |last2=Naumov |first2=N. P. |title=Mammals of the Soviet Union |date=1998 |pages=115, 341–365, 453–502, 513–562 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden |isbn=978-1-886106-81-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/mammalsofsov211998gept/page/115}}</ref> Apart from its large size, the red fox is distinguished from other fox species by its ability to adapt quickly to new environments. Despite its name, the species often produces individuals with other colourings, including leucistic and melanistic individuals.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> Forty-five subspecies are currently recognised,<ref name=msw3/> which are divided into two categories: the large northern foxes and the small, basal southern grey desert foxes of Asia and North Africa.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/>

Red foxes are usually found in pairs or in small family groups consisting of a mated pair and their young, or a male with several females related to each other. The young of the mated pair stay with their parents to help care for the new kits.<ref name="mammals-of-the-brit-isles">{{cite book |last1=Harris|first1=S. |last2=Yalden|first2=D. |name-list-style=amp |title=Mammals of the British Isles: Handbook |date=2008 |publisher=Mammal Society|location=Southampton|isbn=978-0-906282-65-6|edition=Fourth |pages=408–422}}</ref> The species primarily feeds on small rodents, though it may also target rabbits, squirrels, game birds, reptiles, invertebrates<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> and young ungulates.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> Fruit and vegetable matter is also eaten sometimes.<ref name="mammals-of-na">{{cite book|last1=Feldhamer|first1=G. |last2=Thompson|first2=B. |last3=Chapman|first3=J. |name-list-style=amp |title=Wild Mammals of North America: Biology, Management, and Conservation: Biology, Management and Economics |date=2003 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |isbn=978-0-8018-7416-1|pages=516–530 |edition=Second |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-xQalfqP7BcC}}</ref> Although the red fox tends to kill smaller predators, including other fox species, it is vulnerable to attack from larger predators, such as wolves, coyotes, golden jackals, large predatory birds such as golden eagles and Eurasian eagle-owls,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Red Fox Predators |website=Wildlife Online |url=https://www.wildlifeonline.me.uk/animals/article/red-fox-predators |access-date=27 May 2021 |archive-date=10 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220610135922/https://www.wildlifeonline.me.uk/animals/article/red-fox-predators |url-status=live }}</ref> and medium- and large-sized felids.<ref name="Fedriani 1999">{{cite journal |author1=Fedriani, J. M. |author2=Palomares, F. |author3=Delibes, M. |name-list-style=amp |jstor=4222449 |year=1999 |title=Niche relations among three sympatric Mediterranean carnivores |journal=Oecologia |volume=121 |issue=1 |pages=138–148 |pmid=28307883 |doi=10.1007/s004420050915 |bibcode=1999Oecol.121..138F |citeseerx=10.1.1.587.7215|s2cid=39202154}}</ref>

The species has a long history of association with humans. It has been extensively hunted as a pest and furbearer for many centuries, and is represented in human folklore and mythology. Due to its widespread distribution and large population, the red fox is one of the most important fur-bearing animals harvested for the fur trade.<ref name=bachrach>{{cite book|last1=Bachrach|first1=M. |title=Fur: A Practical Treatise|date=1953|publisher=Prentice-Hall|location=New York |edition=Third}}</ref>{{rp|229–230}} Too small to pose a significant threat to humans, it has greatly benefited from the presence of human habitation, and has successfully colonised many suburban and urban areas. The domestication of the red fox is also underway in Russia, and has resulted in the domesticated silver fox.

==Terminology== thumb|Juvenile red foxes are known as cubs or kits. Males are called tods or dogs, females are called vixens, and young are known as cubs or kits.<ref>{{Cite web|date=26 April 2012|title=10 Fascinating Facts About Foxes (With Photos)|url=https://www.peta.org.uk/blog/10-fascinating-facts-about-foxes-with-photos/|access-date=20 January 2022|website=PETA UK|archive-date=20 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120170402/https://www.peta.org.uk/blog/10-fascinating-facts-about-foxes-with-photos/|url-status=live}}</ref> Although the Arctic fox has a small native population in northern Scandinavia, and while the corsac fox's range extends into European Russia, the red fox is the only fox native to Western Europe. For this reason, it is simply called "the fox" in colloquial British English.

==Etymology== The word "fox" comes from Old English, which in turn derived from Proto-Germanic *''fuhsaz''. Compare with West Frisian ''foks'', Dutch {{Lang|nl|vos}}, and German ''{{Lang|de|Fuchs}}''. This, in turn, derives from Proto-Indo-European *''puḱ-'' 'thick-haired; tail'. Compare to the Hindi ''pū̃ch'' 'tail', Tocharian B ''päkā'' 'tail; chowrie', and Lithuanian ''{{Lang|lt|pūkas}}'' 'fur / fluff'. The fox's bushy tail also forms the basis for its Welsh name, ''{{Lang|cy|llwynog}}'', literally 'bushy', from ''{{Lang|cy|llwyn}}'' 'bush'. Likewise, {{langx|pt|raposa}} from ''rabo'' 'tail', Lithuanian ''{{Lang|lt|uodẽgis}}'' from ''uodegà'' 'tail', and Ojibwe ''waagosh'' from ''waa'', which refers to the up and down "bounce" or flickering of an animal or its tail.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

The scientific term ''vulpes'' derives from the Latin word for fox, and gives the adjectives ''vulpine'' and ''vulpecular''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Vulpine|url=http://www.dictionary.com/browse/vulpine|website=dictionary.com|access-date=9 July 2016|archive-date=12 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160612234101/http://www.dictionary.com/browse/vulpine|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Evolutionary history== The red fox is considered to be a more specialised form of ''Vulpes'' than the Afghan, corsac and Bengal fox species in terms of their overall size and adaptation to carnivory; the skull displays far fewer neotenous traits than those of other foxes, and the facial area is more developed.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> However, it is not as well adapted to a purely carnivorous diet as the Tibetan fox.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/>

The sister lineage to the red fox is the Rüppell's fox, but the two species are surprisingly closely related through mitochondrial DNA markers, with Rüppell's fox nested within the red fox lineage.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Basuony |first1=A. E. |last2=Saleh |first2=M. |last3=Hailer |first3=F. |date=2024 |title=Mitogenomic analysis of Rüppell's fox (''Vulpes rueppellii'') confirms phylogenetic placement within the Palaearctic clade shared with its sister species, the red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') |doi=10.1080/24701394.2024.2332320 |journal=Mitochondrial DNA Part A |volume=34 |issue=1–8 |pages=22–28|pmid=38584459 }}</ref> Such a nesting of one species within another is called paraphyly. Several hypotheses have been suggested to explain this,<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |last1=Basuony |first1=Ali E |last2=Saleh |first2=Mostafa |last3=Sarhan |first3=Moustafa |last4=Younes |first4=Mahmoud |last5=Abdel-Hamid |first5=Fouad |last6=Rodriguez Fernandes |first6=Carlos |last7=Vercammen |first7=Paul |last8=Aboshaala |first8=Faraj |last9=Bounaceur |first9=Farid |last10=Chadwick |first10=Elizabeth A |last11=Hailer |first11=Frank |title=Paraphyly of the widespread generalist red fox (Vulpes vulpes): introgression rather than recent divergence of the arid-adapted Rüppell's fox (Vulpes rueppellii)? |journal=Biological Journal of the Linnean Society |date=2023 |volume=138 |issue=4 |pages=453–469 |doi=10.1093/biolinnean/blad001|doi-access=free }}</ref>

[[File:The contemporary land mammals of Egypt (including Sinai) (1980) Fig. 112.png|thumb|Comparative illustration of skulls of the red fox (left) and Rüppell's fox (right): note the more developed facial area of the former]] [[File:Carnivora - Vulpes vulpes, Felis domesticus, Martes martes (skulls).jpg|thumb|Comparison of a red fox's skull with other carnivorans. Left to right: red fox, cat, pine marten]]

{{clade | style = font-size: 90%;line-height:50% | caption = '''Phylogenetic tree of ''Vulpini'' (the fox tribe)'''<ref name="lindblad-toh2005">{{cite journal |author1=Lindblad-Toh, K. |author2=Wade, C. M. |author3=Mikkelsen, T. S. |name-list-style=amp |year=2005 |title=Genome sequence, comparative analysis and haplotype structure of the domestic dog |journal=Nature |volume=438 |issue=7069 |pages=803–819 |doi=10.1038/nature04338 |pmid=16341006 |display-authors=etal|bibcode=2005Natur.438..803L|doi-access=free }}</ref> |1={{clade |1={{clade |1={{clade |1={{clade |1={{clade |1={{clade |1=Arctic fox 50 px |2=Kit fox 50 px }} |2={{clade |1=Corsac fox 50 px |2={{clade |1=Rüppell's fox 50 px |2='''{{em|Red fox}}''' 50 px }} }} }} |2=Cape fox 50 px }} |2={{clade |1=Blanford's fox 50 px |2=Fennec fox 50 px }} }} |2=Raccoon dog 50 px }} |2={{clade |1=Bat-eared fox 50 px }} }} }}

===Origins=== The species is Eurasian in origin, and may have evolved from either ''Vulpes alopecoides'' or the related Chinese ''V. chikushanensis'', both of which lived during the Middle Villafranchian of the Pleistocene Epoch.<ref name=k115>{{cite book|last1=Kurtén|first1=Björn|title=Pleistocene Mammals of Europe|date=1968|publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson}}</ref> The earliest fossil specimens of ''V. vulpes'' were uncovered in Baranya County, Hungary, dating from 3.4 to 1.8 million years ago.<ref>[https://paleobiodb.org/classic/displayCollResults?collection_no=35369 PaleoDatabase collection No. 35369], authorized by Alan Turner, Liverpool John Moores University. Entry by H. O'Regan, 8 December 2003</ref> The ancestral red fox was likely more diminutive compared to today's extant foxes, as the earliest red fox fossils have shown a smaller build than living specimens.<ref name="k115"/>{{rp|115–116}} The earliest fossil remains of the modern species date back to the mid-Pleistocene,<ref>David M. Alba, Saverio Bartolini Lucenti, Joan Madurell Malapeira, 2021, ''[https://portalrecerca.csuc.cat/article/doi/10.13130/2039-4942/15229 Middle Pleistocene fox from the Vallparadís Section (Vallès-Penedès Basin, NE Iberian Peninsula) and the earliest records of the extant red fox] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026070728/https://portalrecerca.csuc.cat/article/doi/10.13130/2039-4942/15229 |date=26 October 2021 }}'', Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, Vol.127, pp.179-187, DOI:10.13130/2039-4942/15229, Retrieved on 26 October 2021</ref> found in association with middens and refuse left by early human settlements. This has led to the theory that the red fox was hunted by primitive humans (as both a source of food and pelts); the possibility also exists of red foxes scavenging from middens or butchered animal carcasses.<ref name="marinis222">{{Harvnb|Spagnesi|De Marina Marinis|2002|p=222}}</ref>

===Colonisation of North America=== [[File:Red fox kits playing Bombay Hook (36455).jpg|thumb|Kits playing in the Delaware, USA]] Red foxes colonised the North American continent in two waves: before and during the Illinoian glaciation, and during the Wisconsinan glaciation.<ref name="phylo"/> Gene mapping demonstrates that red foxes in North America have been isolated from their Old World counterparts for over 400,000 years, thus raising the possibility that speciation has occurred, and that the previous binomial name of ''Vulpes fulva'' may be valid.<ref name="statham2014">{{cite journal | last1 = Statham | first1 = Mark J. | last2 = Murdoch | first2 = James | last3 = Janecka | first3 = Jan | last4 = Aubry | first4 = Keith B. | last5 = Edwards | first5 = Ceiridwen J. | last6 = Soulsbury | first6 = Carl D. | last7 = Berry | first7 = Oliver | last8 = Wang | first8 = Zhenghuan | last9 = Harrison | first9 = David | display-authors = 8 | year = 2014 | title = Range-wide multilocus phylogeography of the red fox reveals ancient continental divergence, minimal genomic exchange and distinct demographic histories | journal = Molecular Ecology | volume = 23 | issue = 19| pages = 4813–4830 | doi = 10.1111/mec.12898 | pmid = 25212210| bibcode = 2014MolEc..23.4813S | s2cid = 25466489 }}</ref> In the far north, red fox fossils have been found in Sangamonian Stage deposits near the Fairbanks District, Alaska, and Medicine Hat, Alberta. Fossils dating from the Wisconsinan are present in 25 sites across Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Feldman |first1=Rodney |last2=Hackathorn |first2=Merriane |title=Fossils of Ohio |date=1996 |publisher=State of Ohio, Dept. of Natural Resources, Division of Geological Survey |location=Columbus |isbn=0-931079-05-5}}</ref> Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wyoming. Although they ranged far south during the Wisconsinan, the onset of warm conditions shrank their range toward the north, and they have only recently reclaimed their former North American ranges because of human-induced environmental changes.<ref name="kurten1980">{{Cite book |last1=Kurtén |first1=B. |title=Pleistocene Mammals of North America |last2=Anderson |first2=E. |date=1980 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-03733-4 |pages=96, 174 |name-list-style=amp}}</ref> Genetic testing indicates that two distinct red fox refugia exist in North America, which have been separated since the Wisconsinan. The northern (or boreal) refugium occurs in Alaska and western Canada, and consists of the larger subspecies ''V. v. alascensis'', ''V. v. abietorum'', ''V. v. regalis'', and ''V. v. rubricosa''. The southern (or montane) refugium occurs in the subalpine parklands and alpine meadows of the west, from the Rocky Mountains to the Cascades and the Sierra Nevada ranges, consisting of the smaller subspecies ''V. v. cascadensis'', ''V. v. macroura'', ''V. v. necator'', and ''V. v. patwin''. The latter clade has been isolated from all other red fox populations since at least the last glacial maximum and may have developed unique ecological or physiological adaptations.<ref name="phylo">{{cite journal |author1=Aubry, Keith B. |author2=Statham, Mark J. |author3=Sacks, Benjamin N. |author4=Perrines, John D. |author5=Wisely, Samantha M. |name-list-style=amp |year=2009 |title=Phylogeography of the North American red fox: Vicariance in Pleistocene forest refugia |journal=Molecular Ecology |volume=18 |issue=12 |pages=2668–2686 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-294X.2009.04222.x |pmid=19457180 |bibcode=2009MolEc..18.2668A |s2cid=11518843 |url=http://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/cdcg/documents/Aubryetal2009_000.pdf |access-date=13 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120616110238/http://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/cdcg/documents/Aubryetal2009_000.pdf |archive-date=16 June 2012 }}</ref>

Although European foxes (''V. v. crucigera'') were introduced to parts of the United States in the 1900s, recent genetic research suggests that there are no European fox mitochondrial haplotypes present in any North American populations.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The origin of recently established red fox populations in the United States: translocations or natural range expansions? |author=Mark J. Statham |author2=Benjamin N. Sacks |author3=Keith B. Aubry |author4=John D. Perrine |author5=Samantha M. Wisely |name-list-style=amp |year=2012 |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=93 |issue=1 |page=58 |doi=10.1644/11-MAMM-A-033.1|doi-access=free }}</ref> Additionally, introduced eastern North American red foxes have colonised most of inland California, from Southern California to the San Joaquin Valley, Monterey and north-coastal San Francisco Bay Area (including urban San Francisco and adjacent cities). In spite of the red fox's adaptability to city life, they are still found in somewhat greater numbers in the northern portions of California (north of the Bay Area) than in the south, as the wilderness is more alpine and isolated. The eastern red foxes appear to have mixed with the Sacramento Valley red fox (''V. v. patwin'') only in a narrow hybrid zone.<ref>{{cite journal |title=A restricted hybrid zone between native and introduced red fox ''Vulpes vulpes'' populations suggests reproductive barriers and competitive exclusion |author1=Sacks, B. N. |author2=Moore, M. |author3=Statham, M. J. |author4=Wittmer, H. U. |name-list-style=amp |journal=Molecular Ecology |year=2011 |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=326–341 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-294x.2010.04943.x|pmid=21143330|bibcode=2011MolEc..20..326S |s2cid=2995171 }}</ref> In addition, no evidence is seen of interbreeding of eastern American red foxes in California with the montane Sierra Nevada red fox (''V. v. necator'') or other populations in the Intermountain West (between the Rocky Mountains to the east and the Cascade and Sierra Nevada Mountains to the west).<ref>{{cite journal |title=Genetic distinctiveness of red foxes in the Intermountain West as revealed through expanded mitochondrial sequencing |author=Volkmann, Logan A. |author2=Statham, Mark J. |author3=Mooers, Arne Ø. |author4=Sacks, Benjamin N. |name-list-style=amp |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=96 |issue=2 |pages=297–307 |doi=10.1093/jmammal/gyv007|year=2015|doi-access=free }}</ref>

===Subspecies=== The third edition of ''Mammal Species of the World''<ref name="msw3">{{MSW3 Wozencraft|id =14000892}}</ref> listed 45 subspecies as valid. In 2010, a distinct 46th subspecies, the Sacramento Valley red fox (''V. v. patwin''), which inhabits the grasslands of the Sacramento Valley, was identified through mitochondrial haplotype studies.<ref name="Sacks 2010">{{cite journal |author1=Sacks, Benjamin N. |author2=Statham, Mark J. |author3=Perrine, John D. |author4=Wisely, Samantha M. |author5=Aubry, Keith B. |name-list-style=amp |year=2010 |title=North American montane red foxes: Expansion, fragmentation, and the origin of the Sacramento Valley red fox |journal=Conservation Genetics |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=1523–1539 |doi=10.1007/s10592-010-0053-4 |s2cid=7164254 |url=https://escholarship.org/content/qt94r5n5s6/qt94r5n5s6.pdf?t=l7nx95 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2010ConG...11.1523S |access-date=3 September 2019 |archive-date=18 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018004833/https://escholarship.org/content/qt94r5n5s6/qt94r5n5s6.pdf?t=l7nx95 |url-status=live }}</ref> Castello (2018) recognized 30 subspecies of the Old World red fox and nine subspecies of the North American red fox as valid.<ref name=Castello2018>{{cite book |last1=Castelló |first1=José R. |title=Canids of the World: Wolves, Wild Dogs, Foxes, Jackals, Coyotes, and Their Relatives |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=9780691176857 |year=2018 |location=Princeton, New Jersey}}</ref>

It is known that substantial gene pool mixing occurs between different subspecies. For example, British red foxes have crossbred extensively with red foxes imported from Germany, France, Belgium, Sardinia and possibly Siberia and Scandinavia.<ref name="dale">{{cite book|last1=Dale|first1=Thomas Francis|author-link1= Thomas Francis Dale|title=The Fox|date=1906|publisher=Longmans, Green, and Co.|location=London, New York, Bombay|url=https://archive.org/details/foxdale00dale|access-date=8 July 2016}}</ref>{{rp|140}} However, genetic studies suggest very little differences between red foxes sampled across Europe.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Modern and ancient red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') in Europe show an unusual lack of geographical and temporal structuring, and differing responses within the carnivores to historical climatic change |author1=Teacher, Amber G. F. |author2=Thomas, Jessica A. |author3=Barnes, Ian |name-list-style=amp |journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology |year=2011 |volume=11 |issue=214 |page=214 |doi=10.1186/1471-2148-11-214 |pmid=21774815 |pmc=3154186 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2011BMCEE..11..214T }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=A range-wide synthesis and timeline for phylogeographic events in the red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') |author=Kutschera, Verena E. |author2=Lecomte, Nicolas |author3=Janke, Axel |author4=Selva, Nuria |author5=Sokolov, Alexander A. |author6=Haun, Timm |author7=Steyer, Katharina |author8=Nowak, Carsten |author9=Hailer, Frank |name-list-style=amp |journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology |year=2013 |volume=13 |issue=114 |page=114 |doi=10.1186/1471-2148-13-114 |pmid=23738594 |pmc=3689046 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2013BMCEE..13..114K }}</ref> Lack of genetic diversity is consistent with the red fox being a highly agile species, with one red fox covering {{cvt|320|km|}} in under a year's time.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Dispersal Patterns of Red Foxes Relative to Population Density |author1=Allen, S. H. |author2=Sargeant, A. B. |name-list-style=amp |journal=Journal of Wildlife Management |year=1993 |volume=57 |issue=3 |pages=526–533 |jstor=3809277 |doi=10.2307/3809277 |bibcode=1993JWMan..57..526A |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1235187 |access-date=28 June 2019 |archive-date=18 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018005348/https://zenodo.org/record/1235187 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Red fox subspecies in Eurasia and North Africa are divided into two categories:<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/>

* {{em|Northern foxes}} are large and brightly coloured. * {{em|Southern grey desert foxes}} include the Asian subspecies ''V. v. griffithi'', ''V. v. pusilla'', and ''V. v. flavescens''. These foxes display transitional features between the northern foxes and other, smaller fox species; their skulls possess more primitive, neotenous traits than the northern foxes<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> and they are much smaller; the maximum sizes attained by southern grey desert foxes are invariably less than the average sizes of northern foxes. Their limbs are also longer and their ears larger.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/>

Red foxes living in Middle Asia show physical traits intermediate to the northern foxes and southern grey desert foxes.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/>

{| class="sortable wikitable collapsible" style="width:100%;" |+ Subspecies of red fox !Subspecies !Trinomial authority !Trinomial authority (year) !Description !Range !Synonyms |- |Scandinavian red fox ''V. v. vulpes'' {{small|(nominate subspecies)}} frameless |Linnaeus |1758 |A large subspecies measuring 70–90 cm in length and weighing 5–10 kg; the maximum length of the skull for males is 163.2 mm. The fur is bright red with a strongly developed whitish and yellow ripple on the lower back.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> | Scandinavia and the northern and middle (forest) districts of the European part of the former Soviet Union, southwards to the forest-steppe and eastwards approximately to the Urals and probably Central and Western Europe |{{Plainlist| * ''alopex'' (Linnaeus, 1758) * ''communis'' (Burnett, 1829) * ''lineatus'' (Billberg, 1827) * ''nigro-argenteus'' (Nilsson, 1820) * ''nigrocaudatus'' (Billberg, 1827) * ''septentrionalis'' (Brass, 1911) * ''variegates'' (Billberg, 1827) * ''vulgaris'' (Oken, 1816) }} |- |British Columbia red fox<ref>{{cite book|title=A biological investigation of the Athabaska-Mackenzie region|last1=Preble|first1=Edward Alexander |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|year=1908|chapter=Mammals|page=217|url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=D63PAAAAMAAJ|page=217}}}}</ref> ''V. v. abietorum'' frameless |Merriam |1900 |Generally similar to ''V. v. alascensis'', but with a lighter, longer and more slender skull<ref name="merriam">{{cite book|last1=Merriam|first1=Clinton Hart|title=Preliminary Revision of the North American Red Foxes|date=1900|publisher=Washington Academy of Sciences|pages=[https://archive.org/details/cihm_16792/page/n9 663]–669|isbn=978-0-665-16792-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/cihm_16792}}</ref> |Southern Yukon, the North-West Territories, northern Alberta, the interior of British Columbia and in the adjoining coastal southeast Alaska (US).<ref>{{cite book|title=Recent Mammals of Alaska|last1=Cook|first1=Joseph A.|last2=MacDonald|first2=Stephen O.|publisher=University of Alaska Press|year=2010|chapter=|page=162|isbn=978-1-60223-116-0|url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=NYTvCAAAQBAJ|page=162}}}}</ref> |''sitkaensis'' (Brass, 1911) |- |Northern Alaskan fox ''V. v. alascensis'' frameless |Merriam |1900 |A large, long-tailed, small-eared form with golden-fulvous fur<ref name="merriam"/> |The Andreafsky Wilderness, Alaska, U.S. | |- |Eastern Transcaucasian fox ''V. v. alpherakyi'' frameless |Satunin |1906 |A small subspecies weighing 4 kg; its maximum skull length is 132–39 mm in males and 121–26 mm in females. The fur is rusty grey or rusty brown, with a brighter rusty stripe along the spine. The coat is short, coarse and sparse.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> |Geok Tepe, Aralsk, Kazakhstan | |- |Anatolian fox ''V. v. anatolica'' frameless |Thomas |1920 |A medium subspecies, 46–65cm long, with a tail length of 33–46cm, weighing 2.2–3.2kg. Fur colour is pale yellow, light grey, red, or brown. Its fur has less red than other subspecies. The ears and tail are long.<ref name=Castello2018/> |Turkey, Armenia, Iran, Iraq.<ref name=Castello2018/> |Persian fox<ref name=Castello2018/> |- |Arabian red fox ''V. v. arabica'' frameless |Thomas |1920 |The smallest supspecies, about 42–63cm long, with a tail length of 25–38cm, weighing 2.4–3.2kg. It has short, pale red or brown fur. The ears are large, and have black tips. The legs are the same colour as the rest of the body.<ref name=Castello2018/> |Widely ranging across the Arabian Peninsula. Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Jordan. Possibly in Iraq and Israel.<ref name=Castello2018/> | |- |Atlas fox ''V. v. atlantica'' frameless |Wagner |1841 | |The Atlas Mountains, Mila Province, Algeria |''algeriensis'' (Loche, 1858) |- |Labrador fox ''V. v. bangsi'' frameless |Merriam |1900 |Similar to ''V. v. fulva'', but with smaller ears and less pronounced black markings on the ears and legs.<ref name="merriam"/> |L'Anse au Loup, the Strait of Belle Isle, Labrador, Canada | |- |Barbary fox ''V. v. barbara'' frameless |Shaw |1800 | |The Barbary Coast, northwestern Africa |''acaab'' (Cabrera, 1916) |- |Anadyr fox ''V. v. beringiana'' frameless |Middendorff |1875 |A large subspecies; it is the most brightly coloured of the Old World red foxes, the fur being saturated bright-reddish and almost lacking the bright ripple along the back and flanks. The coat is fluffy and soft.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> |The shores of the Bering Strait, northeastern Siberia |''anadyrensis'' (J. A. Allen, 1903) ''beringensis'' (Merriam, 1902) ''kamtschadensis'' (Brass, 1911) ''kamtschatica'' (Dybowski, 1922) ''schantaricus'' (Yudin, 1986) |- |Cascade red fox ''V. v. cascadensis'' frameless |Merriam |1900 |A short-tailed, small-toothed subspecies with yellow rather than fulvous fur; it is the subspecies most likely to produce "cross" colour morphs.<ref name="merriam"/> |The Cascade Mountains, Skamania County, Washington, U.S. | |- |North Caucasian fox ''V. v. caucasica'' frameless |Dinnik |1914 |A large subspecies; its coat is variable in colour, ranging from reddish to red-grey and nearly grey. The fur is short and coarse. This subspecies could be a hybrid caused by mixing the populations of ''V. v. stepensis'' and ''V. v. karagan''.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> |Near Vladikavkaz, the Caucasus, Russia | |- |European fox ''V. v. crucigera'' frameless |Bechstein |1789 |A medium-sized subspecies; its yellowish-fulvous or reddish-brown pelt lacks the whitish shading on the upper back. The tail is not grey, as in most other red fox subspecies.<ref name="marinis221">{{Harvnb|Spagnesi|De Marina Marinis|2002|p=221}}</ref> It is primarily distinguished from ''V. v. vulpes'' by its slightly smaller size, distinctly smaller teeth and widely spaced premolars. Red foxes present in Great Britain (and therefore Australia) are usually ascribed to this subspecies, though many populations there display a great degree of tooth compaction not present in continental European red fox populations.<ref name="mammals-of-the-brit-isles"/> |All of Europe except Scandinavia, the Iberian Peninsula and some islands of the Mediterranean Sea; introduced to Australia and North America |''alba'' (Borkhausen, 1797) ''cinera'' (Bechstein, 1801) ''diluta'' (Ognev, 1924) ''europaeus'' (Kerr, 1792) ''hellenica'' (Douma-Petridou and Ondrias, 1980) ''hypomelas'' (Wagner, 1841) ''lutea'' (Bechstein, 1801) ''melanogaster'' (Bonaparte, 1832) ''meridionalis'' (Fitzinger, 1855) ''nigra'' (Borkhausen, 1797) ''stepensis'' (Brauner, 1914) |- |Trans-Baikal fox ''V. v. daurica'' |Ognev |1931 |A large subspecies; the colour along its spine is light, dull yellowish-reddish with a strongly developed white ripple and greyish longitudinal stripes on the anterior side of the limbs. The coat is coarse but fluffy.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> |Kharangoi, 45 km west of Troizkosavsk, Siberia |''ussuriensis'' (Dybowski, 1922) |- |Newfoundland fox ''V. v. deletrix'' |Bangs |1898 |A very pale-coloured form; its light, straw-yellow fur deepens to golden yellow or buff-fulvous in some places. The tail lacks the usual black basal spot. The hind feet and claws are very large.<ref name="merriam"/> |St. George's Bay, Newfoundland, Canada | |- |Ussuri fox ''V. v. dolichocrania'' |Ognev |1926 | |Sidemi, southern Ussuri, southeastern Siberia |''ognevi'' (Yudin, 1986) |- |''V. v. dorsalis'' |J. E. Gray |1838 | | | |- |Turkmenian fox ''V. v. flavescens'' frameless |J. E. Gray |1838 |A small subspecies with an infantile-looking skull and an overall grey-coloured coat; its body length is 49–57.5 cm and it weighs 2.2–3.2 kg.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> |Northern Iran |''cinerascens'' (Birula, 1913) ''splendens'' (Thomas, 1902) |- |American red fox ''V. v. fulva'' frameless |Desmarest |1820 |This is a smaller subspecies than ''V. v. vulpes'', with a smaller, sharper face, a shorter tail, a lighter pelt more profusely mixed with whitish and darker limbs.<ref name="merriam"/> |Eastern Canada and the eastern U.S. |''pennsylvanicus'' (Rhoads, 1894) |- |Afghan red fox ''V. v. griffithi'' frameless |Blyth |1854 |Slightly smaller than ''V. v. montana''; it has a more extensively hoary and silvered pelt.<ref name="pocock">{{cite book|last1=Pocock|author-link=R. I. Pocock|first1=Reginald Innes |title=The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma: Mammalia Volume 2, Carnivora: Aeluroidea, Arctoidea|date=1941|url=https://archive.org/details/PocockMammalia2 |access-date=8 July 2016}}</ref>{{rp|121}} |Kandahar, Afghanistan |''flavescens'' (Hutton, 1845) |- |Kodiak fox ''V. v. harrimani'' frameless |Merriam |1900 |This large subspecies has an enormous tail and coarse, wolf-like fur on the tail and lower back. The hairs on the neck and shoulders are greatly elongated and form a ruff.<ref name="merriam"/> |Kodiak Island, Alaska, U.S. | |- |South Chinese fox ''V. v. hoole'' |R. Swinhoe |1870 |<ref name="a">{{Cite book |last=Allen |first=G. M. |title=The mammals of China and Mongolia. Volume 1 |year=1938 |url=https://archive.org/details/mammalsofchinamo01alle |publisher=American Museum of Natural History |location=New York}}</ref> |Near Amoy, Fukien, southern China |''aurantioluteus'' (Matschie, 1907) ''lineiventer'' (R. Swinhoe, 1871) |- |Sardinian fox ''V. v. ichnusae'' |Miller |1907 |A small subspecies with proportionately small ears.<ref name="marinis221"/> |Sarrabus, Sardinia, Italy; may have been introduced to the English Midlands<ref name="dale"/>{{rp|6}} | |- |Cyprus fox ''V. v. indutus'' |Miller |1907 | |Cyprus | |- |Yakutsk fox ''V. v. jakutensis'' frameless |Ognev |1923 |This subspecies is large, but smaller than ''V. v. beringiana''. The back, neck and shoulders are brownish-rusty, while the flanks are bright ocherous reddish-yellow.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> |The taiga south of Yakutsk, eastern Siberia |''sibiricus'' (Dybowski, 1922) |- |Japanese fox ''V. v. japonica'' frameless |Ognev |1923 | |Japan, except for Hokkaido | |- |Karaganka fox ''V. v. karagan'' frameless |Erxleben |1777 |A smaller subspecies than ''V. v. vulpes''; its fur is short, coarse and of a light sandy-yellow or yellowish-grey colour.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> |The Kirghiz Steppes, Khirgizia, Russia |''ferganensis'' (Ognev, 1926) ''melanotus'' (Pallas, 1811) ''pamirensis'' (Ognev, 1926) ''tarimensis'' (Matschie, 1907) |- |Kenai Peninsula fox ''V. v. kenaiensis'' |Merriam |1900 |One of the largest North American subspecies; it has softer fur than ''V. v. harrimani''.<ref name="merriam"/> |The Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, U.S. | |- |Transcaucasian montane fox ''V. v. kurdistanica'' frameless |Satunin |1906 |A form intermediate in size between ''V. v. alpheryaki'' and ''V. v. caucasica''; its fur is pale yellow or light grey, sometimes brownish-reddish and is fluffier and denser than that of the other two Caucasian red fox subspecies.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> |Northeastern Turkey |''alticola'' (Ognev, 1926) |- |Wasatch Mountains fox ''V. v. macroura'' frameless |Baird |1852 |This fox is similar to ''V. v. fulvus'', but with a much longer tail, larger hind feet and more extensive blackening of the limbs.<ref name="merriam"/> |Named for the Wasatch Mountains near the Great Salt Lake, Utah, found in the Rocky Mountains from Colorado and Utah, western Wyoming and Montana through Idaho north to southern Alberta | |- |Hill fox ''V. v. montana'' frameless |Pearson |1836 |This subspecies is distinguished from ''V. v. vulpes'' by its smaller size, proportionately smaller skull and teeth and coarser fur. The hairs on the sole of the feet are copiously mixed with softer, woolly hairs.<ref name="pocock"/>{{rp|111}} |The Himalayas and northern Indian subcontinent |''alopex'' (Blanford, 1888) ''himalaicus'' (Ogilby, 1837) ''ladacensis'' (Matschie, 1907) ''nepalensis'' (J. E. Gray, 1837) ''waddelli'' (Bonhote, 1906) |- |Sierra Nevada red fox or High Sierra fox ''V. v. necator'' frameless |Merriam |1900 |Externally similar to ''V. v. fulvus''; it has a short tail, but cranially it is more like ''V. v. macroura''<ref name="merriam"/> |The High Sierra, California | |- |Nile fox ''V. v. niloticus'' frameless |E. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire |1803 |A small subspecies; it measures 76.7–105.3 cm in body length, 30.2–40.1 cm in tail length and weighs 1.8–3.8 kg. It is ruddy to grey-brown above and darker on the back of the neck. The flanks are greyer and tinged with buff.<ref name="Hoath 2009">{{cite book |author=Hoath, Richard |title=A Field Guide to the Mammals of Egypt |publisher=American Univ in Cairo Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-977-416-254-1}}</ref> It is larger than ''V. v. arabica'' and ''V. v. palaestina''.<ref name="fieldiana">{{cite book|title=The Contemporary Land Mammals of Egypt (including Sinai)|last1=Osborn|first1=Dale J.|last2=Helmy|first2=Ibrahim |name-list-style=amp |date=1980|publisher=Field Museum of Natural History|url=https://archive.org/details/contemporaryland05osbo|access-date=9 July 2016|pages=[https://archive.org/details/contemporaryland05osbo/page/376 376], 679}}</ref> |Egypt and Sudan |''aegyptiacus'' (Sonnini, 1816) ''anubis'' (Hemprich and Ehrenberg, 1833) ''vulpecula'' (Hemprich and Ehrenberg, 1833) |- |Turkestan fox ''V. v. ochroxantha'' |Ognev |1926 | |Aksai, Semirechye, eastern Russian Turkestan, Kirgizia | |- |Palestinian fox ''V. v. palaestina'' frameless |Thomas |1920 |A small subspecies, about 45–60cm long, with a tail length of 30–40cm, weighing 2–4kg. Fur colour is a dull red or slate grey with red or brown tinges, especially around the face. The ears are black. It is sometimes considered to be the same as Vulpes vulpes arabica, and genetic analysis has not been conducted to prove their difference.<ref name=Castello2018/> |Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Syria. Boundaries with arabica, aegyptiacus, flavescens and pusilla are unclear. Palaestina is the prevailing form along the Mediterranean from Ramleh and Jerusalem up to Lebanon.<ref name=Castello2018/> | |- |Korean fox ''V. v. peculiosa'' frameless |Kishida |1924 | |Northeastern China, Southeastern Russia, and Korea |''kiyomassai'' (Kishida and Mori, 1929) |- |White-footed fox ''V. v. pusilla'' frameless |Blyth |1854 |Slightly smaller than ''V. v. griffithii'';<ref name="pocock"/>{{rp|123}} it closely resembles the Bengal fox (''V. bengalensis'') in size, but is distinguished by its longer tail and hind feet.<ref name="pocock"/>{{rp|129}} |The Salt Range, Punjab, Pakistan |''leucopus'' (Blyth, 1854) ''persicus'' (Blanford, 1875) |- |Northern plains fox ''V. v. regalis'' frameless |Merriam |1900 |The largest North American red fox subspecies; it has very large and broad ears and a very long tail. It is a golden-yellow colour with pure black feet.<ref name="merriam"/> |The Elk River, Sherburne County, Minnesota, US | |- |Nova Scotia fox ''V. v. rubricosa'' |Bangs |1898 |A large-sized subspecies with a large, broad tail and larger teeth and rostrum than ''V. v. fulvus''; it is the deepest-coloured subspecies.<ref name="merriam"/> |Digby County, Nova Scotia, Canada |''bangsi'' (Merriam, 1900) ''deletrix'' (Bangs, 1898) ''rubricos'' (Churcher, 1960) ''vafra'' (Bangs, 1897) |- |Ezo red fox ''V. v. schrencki'' frameless |Kishida |1924 | |Sakhalin, Russia and Hokkaido, Japan | |- |Iberian fox ''V. v. silacea'' frameless |Miller |1907 |Though equal in size to ''V. v. vulpes'', it has smaller teeth and more widely spaced premolars. The fur is dull buff without any yellowish or reddish tints. The hindquarters are frosted with white and the tail is clear grey in colour.<ref name="gerrit">Miller, Gerrit Smith (1912). [https://archive.org/details/catalogueofmamma00brit ''Catalogue of the Mammals of Western Europe (Europe Exclusive of Russia) in the Collection of the British Museum''], British Museum (Natural History). Department of Zoology.</ref> |The Iberian Peninsula | |- |Kurile Islands fox ''V. v. splendidissima'' |Kishida |1924 | |The northern and central Kurile Islands, Russia | |- |Steppe red fox ''V. v. stepensis'' |Brauner |1914 |This subspecies is slightly smaller and more lightly coloured than ''V. v. crucigera'', with shorter, coarser fur. Specimens from the Crimean Mountains have brighter, fluffier and denser fur.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> |The steppes near Kherson, Ukraine |''krymeamontana'' (Brauner, 1914) ''crymensis'' (Brauner, 1914) |- |Tobolsk fox ''V. v. tobolica'' |Ognev |1926 |This large subspecies has yellowish-rusty or dirty-reddish fur with a well-developed cross and often a black area on the belly. The coat is long and fluffy.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> |Obdorsk, Tobolsk, Russia | |- |North Chinese fox ''V. v. tschiliensis'' frameless |Matschie |1907 |Slightly larger than ''V. v. hoole'', but unlike other Chinese red foxes, it closely approaches ''V. v. vulpes'' in size.<ref name="a353">{{Harvnb|Allen|1938|p=353}}</ref> |Beijing and Hebei province, China |''huli'' (Sowerby, 1923) |}

==Description== ===Build=== [[File:Yawning red and corsac fox.jpg|thumb|Red fox (left) and corsac fox (right) yawning]] The red fox has an elongated body and relatively short limbs. The tail, which is longer than half the body length<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> (70 percent of head and body length),<ref name="lariviere">{{cite book |last1=Larivière|first1=Serge|last2=Pasitschniak-Arts|first2=Maria |name-list-style=amp |title=''Vulpes vulpes''|date=1996|publisher=American Society of Mammalogists |url=http://www.science.smith.edu/departments/Biology/VHAYSSEN/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-537-01-0001.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051031015804/http://www.science.smith.edu/departments/Biology/VHAYSSEN/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-537-01-0001.pdf|archive-date=31 October 2005|access-date=9 July 2016}}</ref> is fluffy and reaches the ground when in a standing position. Their pupils are oval and vertically oriented.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> Nictitating membranes are present, but move only when the eyes are closed. The forepaws have five digits, while the hind feet have only four and lack dewclaws.<ref name="mammals-of-the-brit-isles"/> They are very agile, being capable of jumping over {{cvt|2|m}} high fences, and swim well.<ref name="z132">{{Harvnb|Sillero-Zubiri|Hoffman|MacDonald|2004|pp=132–133}}</ref> Vixens normally have four pairs of teats,<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> though vixens with seven, nine, or ten teats are not uncommon.<ref name="mammals-of-the-brit-isles"/> The testes of males are smaller than those of Arctic foxes.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/>

Their skulls are fairly narrow and elongated, with small braincases. Their canine teeth are relatively long. Sexual dimorphism of the skull is more pronounced than in corsac foxes, with female red foxes tending to have smaller skulls than males, with wider nasal regions and hard palates, as well as having larger canines.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> Their skulls are distinguished from those of dogs by their narrower muzzles, less crowded premolars, more slender canine teeth, and concave rather than convex profiles.<ref name="mammals-of-the-brit-isles"/>

===Dimensions=== Red foxes are the largest species of the genus ''Vulpes''.<ref name="z129">{{Harvnb|Sillero-Zubiri|Hoffman|MacDonald|2004|p=129}}</ref> However, relative to their size, red foxes are much lighter than similarly sized dogs in the genus ''Canis''. For example, their limb bones weigh 30 percent less per unit area of bone than expected for similarly sized dogs.<ref name="rwf1987">{{Cite book |last=Macdonald |first=David |title=Running with the Fox |publisher=Unwin Hyman, London |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-04-440199-5}}</ref>{{rp|122}} They display significant individual, sexual, age and geographical variation in size. On average, adults measure {{cvt|35|–|50|cm}} high at the shoulder and {{cvt|45|-|90|cm}} in body length with tails measuring {{cvt|30|-|55.5|cm}}. The ears measure {{cvt|7.7|-|12.5|cm}} and the hind feet {{cvt|12|-|18.5|cm}}. Weights range from {{cvt|2.2|-|14|kg}}, with vixens typically weighing 15–20% less than tods.<ref name=r10>{{cite book|author=Nowak, Ronald M.|title=Walker's Mammals of the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T37sFCl43E8C&q=eurasian+lynx+38+kg&pg=PA806|page=636|volume=1|publisher=JHU Press|year=1999|isbn=978-0-8018-5789-8}}</ref><ref name="Burnie">Burnie, D. & Wilson, D. E. (eds.), ''Animal: The Definitive Visual Guide to the World's Wildlife''. DK Adult (2005), {{ISBN|0789477645}}</ref> Adult red foxes have skulls measuring {{cvt|129|–|167|mm}}, while those of vixens measure {{cvt|128|–|159|mm}}.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> The forefoot print measures {{cvt|60|mm}} in length and {{cvt|45|mm}} in width, while the hind foot print measures {{cvt|55|mm}} long and {{cvt|38|mm}} wide. They trot at a speed of {{cvt|6|-|13|km/h}}, and have a maximum running speed of {{cvt|50|km/h}}. They have a stride of {{cvt|25|–|35|cm}} when walking at a normal pace.<ref name=rwf1987/>{{rp|36}} North American red foxes are generally lightly built, with comparatively long bodies for their mass and have a high degree of sexual dimorphism. British red foxes are heavily built, but short, while continental European red foxes are closer to the general average among red fox populations.<ref name="z130">{{Harvnb|Sillero-Zubiri|Hoffman|MacDonald|2004|p=130}}</ref> The largest red fox on record in Great Britain was a {{cvt|1.4|m}} long male, that weighed {{cvt|17.2|kg}}, killed in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in early 2012.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-17259087 |title='Largest fox killed in UK' shot on Aberdeenshire farm |author=Wilkes, David |date=5 March 2012 |work=BBC News Online |access-date=20 June 2018 |archive-date=1 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201091325/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-17259087 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Fur=== thumb|A red fox in its winter coat in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, U.S. The winter fur is dense, soft, silky and relatively long. For the northern foxes, the fur is very long, dense and fluffy, but it is shorter, sparser and coarser in southern forms.{{sfn|Heptner|Naumov|1998|p=472}} Among northern foxes, the North American varieties generally have the silkiest guard hairs,<ref name=bachrach/>{{rp|231}} while most Eurasian red foxes have coarser fur.<ref name="bachrach"/>{{rp|235}} The fur on areas such as the head and lower legs, known as "thermal windows", is kept short and dense all year round, while the fur on other areas changes with the seasons. Foxes actively control the peripheral vasodilation and peripheral vasoconstriction in these areas to regulate heat loss.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Klir|first1=J. J.|last2=Heath|first2=J. E. |name-list-style=amp |date=1992 |title=An infrared thermographic study of surface temperature in relation to external thermal stress in three species of foxes: The Red Fox (''Vulpes vulpes''), Arctic Fox (''Alopex lagopus''), and Kit Fox (''Vulpes macrotis'') |journal=Physiological Zoology |volume=65|issue=5|pages=1011–1021 |doi=10.1086/physzool.65.5.30158555 |s2cid=87183522}}</ref> There are three main colour morphs; red, silver/black and cross (see ''Mutations'').<ref name=lariviere/> In the typical red morph, their coats are usually bright reddish-rust colour with yellowish tints. Along the spine, there is a stripe of weak, diffuse patterns of brown, reddish and chestnut hairs. Two additional stripes run down the shoulder blades and, together with the spinal stripe, form a cross. The lower back is often a mottled silvery colour. The flanks are lighter coloured than the back, while the chin, lower lips, throat and front of the chest are white. The remaining lower surface of the body is dark, brown or reddish.{{sfn|Heptner|Naumov|1998|p=472}} During lactation, the belly fur of vixens may turn brick red.<ref name="mammals-of-the-brit-isles"/> The upper parts of the limbs are rusty red, while the paws are black. The front of the face and the upper neck are bright brownish-red, while the upper lips are white. The backs of the ears are black or brownish-reddish, while the inner surface is whitish. The top of the tail is brownish-reddish, but lighter in colour than the back and flanks. The underside of the tail is pale grey with a straw-coloured tint. A black spot, the location of the supracaudal gland, is usually present at the base of the tail. The tip of the tail is white.{{sfn|Heptner|Naumov|1998|p=471}}

====Colour morphs==== thumb|Taxidermy models of various red fox colour morphs Atypical colouration in the red fox usually represents stages toward full melanism,<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> and mostly occurs in cold regions.<ref name="mammals-of-na"/>

{| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! width=150|Colour morph ! width=150|Image ! width=500|Description |- style="vertical-align: top;" ||{{em|Red}} | |50 px ||The typical colouration (see fur above) |- style="vertical-align: top;" | style="font-style: bold;"|{{em|Smokey}} | | ||The rump and spine is brown or grey with light yellowish bands on the guard hairs. The cross on the shoulders is brown, rusty brown or reddish-brown. The limbs are brown.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> |- style="vertical-align: top;" | style="font-style: bold;"|{{em|Cross}} | |50 px ||The fur has a darker colouration than the colour morph listed directly above. The rump and lower back are dark brown or dark grey, with varying degrees of silver on the guard hairs. The cross on the shoulders is black or brown, sometimes with light silvery fur. The head and feet are brown.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> |- style="vertical-align: top;" | style="font-style: bold;"|{{em|Blackish-brown}} | | ||The melanistic colour morph of the Eurasian red foxes. Has blackish-brown or black skin with a light brownish tint. The skin area usually has a variable admixture of silver. Reddish hairs are either completely absent or in small quantities.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> |- style="vertical-align: top;" | style="font-style: bold;"|{{em|Silver}} | |50 px ||The melanistic colour morph of the North American red foxes, but introduced to the Old World by the fur trade. Characterised by pure black colour with skin that usually has a variable admixture of silver (covering 25–100% of the skin area)<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> |- style="vertical-align: top;" | style="font-style: bold;"|{{em|Platinum}} | |50 px ||Distinguished from the silver colour morph by its pale, almost silvery-white fur with a bluish cast<ref name=bachrach/>{{rp|251}} |- style="vertical-align: top;" | style="font-style: bold;"|{{em|Amber}} | |50 px | | |- style="vertical-align: top;" | style="font-style: bold;"|{{em|Samson}} | |50 px ||Distinguished by its woolly pelt, which lacks guard hairs<ref name=bachrach/>{{rp|230}} |}

===Senses=== Red foxes have binocular vision,<ref name="mammals-of-the-brit-isles"/> but their sight reacts mainly to movement. They have acute auditory perception, being able to hear black grouse changing roosts at 600 paces, crows flying at {{cvt|0.25|–|0.5|km}} and mice squeaking at about {{cvt|100|m}}.{{sfn|Heptner|Naumov|1998|p=561}} They can locate sounds with an accuracy of one degree at frequencies of 700–3,000 Hz, though less accurately at higher frequencies.<ref name="z132"/> Their sense of smell is good, but weaker than that of dogs specialised in scent work.{{sfn|Heptner|Naumov|1998|p=561}}

===Scent glands=== Red foxes have a pair of anal sacs lined with sebaceous glands that open through a single duct.<ref>Albone, E. S. & Grönnerberg, T. O. [http://www.jlr.org/content/18/4/474.full.pdf "Lipids of the anal sac secretions of the red fox, ''Vulpes vulpes'' and of the lion, ''Panthera leo''"]. ''Journal of Lipid Research''. 18.4 (1977): 474–479.</ref> The size and volume of the anal sacs increases with age, ranging in size from 5–40mm in length, 1–3mm in diameter, and with a capacity of 1–5 mL.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rinck |first1=M |last2=Rinck |first2=R |last3=Rinck |first3=J |last4=Sulimanović |first4=D |last5=Kos |first5=J |last6=Janicki |first6=Z |date=2000-06-01 |title=Morphometrische Analbeutelmessungen beim Rotfuchs (Vulpes vulpes, Linné 1758) |journal=Zeitschrift für Jagdwissenschaft |volume=46 |issue=117–119 |page=118 |doi=10.1007/BF02241575 |bibcode=2000ZJag...46..117R |s2cid=35030583 |via=SpringerLink}}</ref> The anal sacs act as fermentation chambers in which aerobic and anaerobic bacteria convert sebum into odorous compounds, including aliphatic acids. The oval-shaped caudal gland is {{cvt|25|mm}} long and {{cvt|13|mm}} wide, and reportedly smells of violets.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> The presence of foot glands is equivocal. The interdigital cavities are deep, with a reddish tinge and smell strongly. Sebaceous glands are present on the angle of the jaw and mandible.<ref name="mammals-of-the-brit-isles"/>

==Distribution and habitat== [[File:Red fox (Vulpes vulpes crucigera) Skalnate Pleso.jpg|thumb|''V. v. crucigera'' (European fox), Slovakia]]

The red fox is a widespread species. Its range covers nearly {{cvt|70000000|km2}}, extending as far north as the Arctic Circle. It is found throughout Europe, in Africa north of the Sahara Desert, throughout Asia apart from extreme Southeast Asia, and across North America apart from most of the southwestern United States and Mexico. It is absent from the Arctic islands,{{Disputed inline|Actual range|date=January 2025}} the most northerly parts of central Siberia, and in extreme deserts.<ref name=IUCN/> It is not present in New Zealand and is classed as a "prohibited new organism" under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act of 1996, which does not allow its import.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1996/0030/latest/DLM386556.html#DLM386556 |title=Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 2003 – Schedule 2 Prohibited new organisms |publisher=New Zealand Government |access-date=26 January 2012 |archive-date=16 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120616104517/http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1996/0030/latest/DLM386556.html#DLM386556 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Australia=== [[File:Smart Fox - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Fox in Western Australia. Foxes are invasive in Australia, and can harm native wildlife]] {{Main|Feral foxes in Australia}}

In Australia, estimates in 2012 indicated that there were more than 7.2 million red foxes,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gamecouncil.nsw.gov.au/portal.asp?p=Ferals1 |title=Impacts of Feral Animals |access-date=29 May 2012 |publisher=Game Council of New South Wales |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418154902/http://www.gamecouncil.nsw.gov.au/portal.asp?p=Ferals1 |archive-date=18 April 2012}}</ref> with a range extending throughout most of the continental mainland.<ref name=rwf1987/>{{rp|14}} They were introduced Australia in the 1830s and 1840s by settlers in the British colonies of Van Diemen's Land (as early as 1833) and the Port Phillip District of New South Wales (as early as 1845). The settlers wanted to foster the traditional English sport of fox hunting. However, a permanent red fox population did not become established on the island of Tasmania, and it is widely believed that foxes were outcompeted by the Tasmanian devil.<ref name=Bostanci2005>{{Cite journal |last1=Bostanci |first1=A. |title=Wildlife Biology: A Devil of a Disease |doi=10.1126/science.307.5712.1035 |journal=Science |volume=307 |issue=5712 |page=1035 |year=2005 |pmid=15718445|s2cid=54100368}}</ref> On the mainland, however, the species was successful as an apex predator. The fox is generally less common in areas where the dingo is more prevalent, but it has achieved niche differentiation with both the feral dog and the feral cat, primarily through its burrowing behaviour. Consequently, the fox has become one of the continent's most destructive invasive species.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

The red fox has been implicated in the extinction or decline of several native Australian species, particularly those of the family Potoroidae, including the desert rat-kangaroo.<ref name='Biological Conservation 1998-09-13'>{{Cite journal |last1=Short |first1=J. |title=The extinction of rat-kangaroos (Marsupialia: Potoroidae) in New South Wales, Australia |doi=10.1016/S0006-3207(98)00026-3 |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=86 |issue=3 |pages=365–377|year=1998 |bibcode=1998BCons..86..365S}}</ref> The spread of red foxes across the southern part of the continent has coincided with the spread of rabbits in Australia, and corresponds with declines in the distribution of several medium-sized ground-dwelling mammals, including brush-tailed bettongs, burrowing bettongs, rufous bettongs, bilbies, numbats, bridled nail-tail wallabies and quokkas.<ref>{{cite report |url=http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/pestsweeds/RedfoxApproved.pdf |title=Threat Abatement Plan for Predation by the Red Fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') |year=2001 |publisher=NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service |isbn=0-7313-6424-4 |access-date=25 September 2010 |archive-date=17 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110317045658/http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/pestsweeds/RedfoxApproved.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> Most of those species are now limited to areas (such as islands) where red foxes are absent or rare. Local fox eradication programs exist, although elimination has proven difficult due to the fox's denning behaviour and nocturnal hunting, so the focus is on management, including the introduction of state bounties.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Millen, Tracey |date=October–November 2006 |title=Call for more dingoes to restore native species |journal=ECOS |volume=133 |url=http://www.publish.csiro.au/?act=view_file&file_id=EC133p5a.pdf |access-date=9 March 2007 |archive-date=16 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120416060335/http://www.publish.csiro.au/?act=view_file |url-status=live}} (Refers to the book ''Australia's Mammal Extinctions: A 50,000 Year History''. Christopher N. Johnson. {{ISBN|978-0-521-68660-0}}.)</ref> According to the Tasmanian government, red foxes were accidentally introduced to the previously fox-free island of Tasmania in 1999 or 2000, posing a significant threat to native wildlife, including the eastern bettong, and an eradication program was initiated, conducted by the Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries and Water.<ref>{{cite web |title=Latest Physical Evidence of Foxes in Tasmania |work=Department of Primary Industries and Water, Tasmania website |url=http://www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/WebPages/LJEM-6SH7FX?open |date=18 July 2013 |access-date=20 September 2013 |archive-date=21 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054610/http://www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/WebPages/LJEM-6SH7FX?open |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Sardinia=== [[File:Areale dei canidi italiani.png|thumb|Current range of the red fox in Italy (orange) alongside the range of the European jackal and Italian wolf]] The origin of the ''ichnusae'' subspecies in Sardinia, Italy is uncertain, as it is absent from Pleistocene deposits in their current homeland. It is possible it originated during the Neolithic following its introduction to the island by humans. It is likely then that Sardinian fox populations stem from repeated introductions of animals from different localities in the Mediterranean. This latter theory may explain the subspecies' phenotypic diversity.<ref name=marinis222/>

==Behaviour and ecology== {{multiple image |direction=vertical | image1 = Rebane - Vulpes vulpes.jpg | caption1 = Red fox pressed against the trunk of a pine tree in Ilmatsalu, Estonia | image2 = It_Must_be_Love_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2503970.jpg | caption2 = Red foxes grooming each other | image3 = Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) -British Wildlife Centre-8.jpg | caption3 = A pair of European red foxes (''V.{{nbsp}}v. crucigera'') at the British Wildlife Centre, Surrey, England}}

===Social and territorial behaviour=== Red foxes either establish stable home ranges within particular areas or are itinerant with no fixed abode.<ref name=rwf1987/>{{rp|117}} They use their urine to mark their territories.<ref name="Fawcett 2012">{{cite journal |author1=Fawcett, John K. |author2=Fawcett, Jeanne M. |author3=Soulsbury, Carl D. |name-list-style=amp |title=Seasonal and sex differences in urine marking rates of wild red foxes ''Vulpes vulpes'' |journal=Journal of Ethology |year=2012 |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=41–47 |doi=10.1007/s10164-012-0348-7 |s2cid=15328275}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Macdonald, D. W. |year=1979 |title=Some observations and field experiments on the urine marking behaviour of the red fox, ''Vulpes vulpes'' L. |journal=Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=1–22 |doi=10.1111/j.1439-0310.1979.tb00667.x |bibcode=1979Ethol..51....1M |url=https://www.originalwisdom.com/wp-content/uploads/bsk-pdf-manager/2019/04/MacDonald_1979_Some-Observations-and-Field-Experiments-on-scent-marking-in-red-fox.pdf |access-date=21 February 2020 |archive-date=6 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210706103639/https://www.originalwisdom.com/wp-content/uploads/bsk-pdf-manager/2019/04/MacDonald_1979_Some-Observations-and-Field-Experiments-on-scent-marking-in-red-fox.pdf }}</ref> A male fox raises one of his hind legs, spraying his urine forward in front of him. In contrast, a female fox squats down, spraying her urine onto the ground between her hind legs.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Walters, M. |author2=Bang, P. |author3=Dahlstrøm, P. |name-list-style=amp |title=Animal Tracks and Signs |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A6XwAAAAMAAJ |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |year=2001 |pages=202–203 |isbn=978-0-19-850796-3}}</ref> Urine is also used to mark empty cache sites where found food is stored. This serves as a reminder not to waste time investigating them.<ref name=rwf1987/>{{rp|125}}<ref>{{cite journal |title=The use of urine marking in the scavenging behavior of the red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') |author=Henry, J. D. |journal=Behaviour |volume=61 |issue=1/2 |year=1977 |pages=82–106 |jstor=4533812 |doi=10.1163/156853977X00496 |pmid=869875|s2cid=36332457 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Andersen |first1=K. F. |last2=Vulpius |first2 =T. |name-list-style=amp |title=Urinary volatile constituents of the lion, ''Panthera leo''|doi=10.1093/chemse/24.2.179 |journal=Chemical Senses |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=179–189 |year=1999 |pmid=10321819 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Males generally have higher urine marking rates during late summer and autumn, but the rest of the year the rates between male and female are similar.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Fawcett, J. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Fawcett, J. |author3=Soulsbury, C. |year=2013 |title=Seasonal and sex differences in urine marking rates of wild red foxes ''Vulpes vulpes'' |journal=Journal of Ethology |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=41–47 |doi=10.1007/s10164-012-0348-7|s2cid=254144483 }}</ref> The use of up to 12 different urination postures allows them to precisely control the position of the scent mark.<ref name="ElbrochKresky2012">{{cite book |author1=Elbroch, L. M. |author2=Kresky, M. R. |author3=Evans, J. W. |name-list-style=amp |title=Field Guide to Animal Tracks and Scat of California |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NGHgFgtJDQYC&pg=PA189 |year=2012 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-25378-0 |page=189}}</ref>

Red foxes live in family groups that share a territory. In favourable habitats and/or areas with low hunting pressure, a range of subordinate foxes may be present. There may be one or two subordinate foxes, or sometimes up to eight, in one territory. These subordinates may formerly have been dominant animals, but they are mostly young from the previous year and act as helpers in rearing the breeding vixen's kits. Alternatively, their presence has been explained as a response to temporary food surpluses unrelated to assisting reproductive success. Non-breeding vixens guard, play with, groom, provision and retrieve kits,<ref name="mammals-of-the-brit-isles"/> an example of kin selection. Red foxes may leave their families once they reach adulthood if they have a high chance of winning of their own. Otherwise, they will stay with their parents, postponing their own reproduction in the process.<ref name=rwf1987/>{{rp|140–141}} {{clear}} ===Reproduction and development=== [[File:Red foxes mating (2).jpg|thumb|Red foxes mating]]

{{multiple image |align=left |direction=vertical | image1 = Vulpes vulpes ssp fulvus 6568061.jpg | image2 = Red fox kit 3 (Vulpes vulpes).jpg | image3=Fox_cub_bushes.png | footer=Red fox kits}}

Red foxes reproduce once a year in spring. Two months prior to oestrus (typically December), the reproductive organs of vixens change shape and size. By the time they enter their oestrus period, their uterine horns double in size, and their ovaries grow 1.5–2 times larger. Sperm formation in males begins in August–September, with the testicles attaining their greatest weight in December–February.{{sfn|Heptner|Naumov|1998|pp=537-538}} The vixen's oestrus period lasts three weeks,<ref name="mammals-of-the-brit-isles"/> during which the dog-foxes mate with the vixens for several days, often in burrows. {{anchor|Copulation}} The male's bulbus glandis enlarges during copulation,<ref name="mammals-of-na"/> forming a copulatory tie which may last for more than an hour.<ref name="mammals-of-the-brit-isles"/> The gestation period lasts 49–58 days.{{sfn|Heptner|Naumov|1998|pp=537-538}} Though foxes are largely monogamous,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Iossa |first1=G. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Soulsbury, C.D. |author3=Baker, P.J. |author4=Harris, S. |year=2008 |title=Body mass, territory size, and life-history tactics in a socially monogamous canid, the red fox ''Vulpes vulpes'' |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=89 |issue=6|pages=1481–1490 |doi=10.1644/07-mamm-a-405.1 |doi-access=free}}</ref> DNA evidence from one population indicated large levels of polygyny, incest and mixed paternity litters.<ref name="mammals-of-the-brit-isles"/> Subordinate vixens may become pregnant, but usually fail to whelp, or have their kits killed postpartum by either the dominant female or other subordinates.<ref name="mammals-of-the-brit-isles"/>

The average litter size consists of four to six kits, though litters of up to 13 kits have been reported.{{sfn|Heptner|Naumov|1998|p=541}} Large litters are typical in areas where fox mortality is high.<ref name=rwf1987/>{{rp|93}} Kits are born blind, deaf and toothless, with dark brown fluffy fur. At birth, they weigh {{cvt|56|–|110|g}} and measure {{cvt|14.5|cm}} in body length and {{cvt|7.5|cm}} in tail length. At birth, they are short-legged, large-headed and have broad chests.{{sfn|Heptner|Naumov|1998|pp=542, 544}} Mothers remain with the kits for 2–3 weeks as they are unable to thermoregulate. During this period, the fathers or barren vixens feed the mothers.<ref name="mammals-of-the-brit-isles"/> Vixens are very protective of their kits, and have been known to even fight off terriers in their defence.<ref name="dale"/>{{rp|21–22}} If the mother dies before the kits are independent, the father takes over as their provider.<ref name="dale"/>{{rp|13}} The kits' eyes open after 13–15 days, during which time their ear canals open and their upper teeth erupt, with the lower teeth emerging 3–4 days later.{{sfn|Heptner|Naumov|1998|pp=542, 544}} Their eyes are blue at birth, but change to amber at 4–5 weeks. Their coat begins to change colour at three weeks of age, when a black streak appears around the eyes. By one month of age, red and white patches appear on their faces. During this time, their ears become erect and their muzzles elongate.<ref name="mammals-of-the-brit-isles"/> Kits begin to leave their dens and experiment with solid food provided by their parents at the age of 3–4 weeks. The lactation period lasts 6–7 weeks.{{sfn|Heptner|Naumov|1998|pp=542, 544}} Their woolly coats begin to be coated by shiny guard hairs after 8 weeks.<ref name="mammals-of-the-brit-isles"/> By the age of 3–4 months, the kits are long-legged, narrow-chested and sinewy. They reach adult proportions at the age of 6–7 months.{{sfn|Heptner|Naumov|1998|pp=542, 544}} Some vixens may reach sexual maturity at the age of 9–10 months, thus bearing their first litters at one year of age.{{sfn|Heptner|Naumov|1998|pp=537-538}} In captivity, their longevity can be as long as 15 years, though in the wild they typically do not survive past 5 years of age.<ref name="Hunter 2011"/>

===Denning behaviour=== thumb|Illustration of the side and above views of a red fox den thumb|Video of fox kits coming out of their den Outside of the breeding season, most red foxes prefer to live in the open, in densely vegetated areas, although they may enter burrows to escape bad weather.<ref name="mammals-of-the-brit-isles"/> Their burrows are often dug on hill or mountain slopes, in ravines and on steep riverbanks, as well as in ditches, depressions and gutters, and in rock clefts and neglected human environments. Red foxes prefer to dig their burrows in well-drained soil. Dens built among tree roots can last for decades, whereas those dug in steppe regions only last several years.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> They may permanently abandon their dens during mange outbreaks, possibly as a defence mechanism against the spread of disease.<ref name="mammals-of-the-brit-isles"/> In the Eurasian desert regions, foxes may use the burrows of wolves, porcupines and other large mammals, as well as those dug by gerbil colonies. Compared to burrows constructed by Arctic foxes, badgers, marmots and corsac foxes, red fox dens are not overly complex. Red fox burrows consist of a den and temporary burrows. The latter comprise only a small passage or cave for concealment. The main entrance of the burrow leads downwards (40–45°) and opens into a den, from which numerous side tunnels branch off. The depth of the burrow ranges from {{cvt|0.5|–|2.5|m}}, rarely extending to ground water. The main passage can reach {{cvt|17|m}} in length, standing an average of {{cvt|5|–|7|m}}. In spring, red foxes clear their dens of excess soil by making rapid movements with their forepaws and hind legs. They throw the discarded soil up to {{cvt|2|m}} from the burrow. Once kits are born, the discarded debris is trampled to form an area where the kits can play and receive food.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> They may share their dens with woodchucks<ref name="mammals-of-na"/> or badgers.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> Unlike badgers, which fastidiously clean their earths and defecate in latrines, red foxes habitually leave pieces of prey around their dens.<ref name="dale"/>{{rp|15–17}} The average sleep time of a captive red fox is 9.8 hours per day.<ref name="Holland 2011">{{cite journal |author=Holland, Jennifer S. |title=40 winks? |journal=National Geographic |volume=220 |issue=1 |date=July 2011}}</ref>

===Communication=== [[File:Young Fox (16605353545).jpg|thumb|left|A red fox marking its territory]] The body language of red foxes consists of movements of the ears and tail, as well as postures. Their body markings emphasise certain gestures. These postures can be categorised as either aggressive/dominant or fearful/submissive. Some postures may blend the two together.<ref name=rwf1987/>{{rp|42–43}} Inquisitive foxes will rotate and flick their ears while they sniff. Playful individuals will perk their ears up and stand on their hind legs. Male foxes will turn their ears outward and raise their tails horizontally with the tips raised upwards when courting females or after successfully evicting intruders. When afraid, red foxes grin in submission, arching their backs, curving their bodies, crouching their legs and lashing their tails back and forth with their ears pointing backwards and pressed against their skulls. When merely expressing submission to a dominant animal, they adopt a similar posture, but without arching their backs or curving their bodies. Submissive foxes approach dominant animals with their muzzles reaching up in greeting, in a low posture. When two evenly matched foxes confront each other over food, they approach side by side and push against each other's flanks. They betray a mixture of fear and aggression through their actions: they lash their tails and arch their backs, but do not crouch or pull their ears back and flatten them against their skulls. When launching an assertive attack, red foxes approach directly, with their tails held high and their ears rotated sideways.<ref name="rwf1987" />{{rp||page=43}} During such fights, red foxes will stand on each other's upper bodies with their forelegs, using open mouthed threats. Such fights typically only occur among juveniles or adults of the same sex.<ref name="mammals-of-the-brit-isles" />

thumb|A pair of Wasatch Mountains foxes (''V. v. macroura'') squabbling {{Listen | filename =Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) (W1CDR0001529 BD12).ogg |title=Red fox barks, recorded in Gloucestershire, England, January 1977 | pos =right }} Red foxes have a wide vocal range, and produce different sounds spanning five octaves which blend into each other.<ref name=rwf1987/>{{rp|28}} Recent analyses have identified 12 different sounds produced by adults and 8 by kits.<ref name="mammals-of-the-brit-isles"/> The majority of sounds can be categorised as either "contact" or "interaction" calls. The former vary according to the distance between individuals, while the latter vary according to the level of aggression.<ref name=rwf1987/>{{rp|28}}

*Contact calls: The most commonly heard contact call is a barking sound consisting of three to five syllables, transcribed as "''wow wow wow''", which is often made by two foxes approaching one another. This call is most frequently heard from December to February (when they can be confused with the territorial calls of tawny owls). The "''wow wow wow''" call varies from one fox to another. Captive foxes have been recorded to answer pre-recorded calls of their pen-mates, but not those of strangers. Kits begin emitting the "''wow wow wow''" call at the age of 19 days, when craving attention. When red foxes draw close together, they emit trisyllabic greeting warbles similar to the clucking of chickens. Adults greet their kits with gruff huffing noises.<ref name=rwf1987/>{{rp|28}} *Interaction calls: When greeting one another, red foxes emit high pitched whines, particularly submissive animals. A submissive fox approached by a dominant animal will emit a ululating siren-like shriek. During aggressive encounters with conspecifics, they emit a throaty rattling sound, similar to a ratchet, called "gekkering". Gekkering occurs mostly during the courting season from rival males or vixens rejecting advances.<ref name=rwf1987/>{{rp|28}} Another call that does not fit into the two categories is a long, drawn-out, monosyllabic "''waaaaah''" sound. As it is commonly heard during the breeding season, it is thought to be emitted by vixens summoning males. When danger is detected, foxes emit a monosyllabic bark. At close quarters, it is a muffled cough, while at long distances it is sharper. Kits make warbling whimpers when nursing, these calls being especially loud when they are dissatisfied.<ref name=rwf1987/>{{rp|28}}

===Diet and hunting === [[File:Red fox with nutria.jpg|thumb|A red fox with a coypu]] thumb|Occurrence of key food categories in the diet of red foxes by continent. Food categories, from left to right: small mammals, invertebrates, medium-sized mammals, fruit, birds, vegetation, large mammals, garbage, and reptiles<ref>{{cite journal|first1=Irene|last1=Castañeda|first2=Tim S.|last2=Doherty|first3=Patricia A.|last3=Fleming|first4=Alyson M.|last4=Stobo‐Wilson|title=Variation in red fox Vulpes vulpes diet in five continents|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mam.12292|journal=Mammal Review|date=July 2022|pages=328–342|volume=52|issue=3|doi=10.1111/mam.12292|first5=John C. Z.|last5=Woinarski|first6=Thomas M.|last6=Newsome}}</ref> The red fox is an omnivore with a highly varied diet.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Contesse |first1=P. |last2=Hegglin |first2=D. |last3=Gloor |first3=S. |last4=Bontadina |first4=F. |last5=Deplazes |first5=P. |date=2004 |title=The diet of urban foxes (''Vulpes vulpes'') and the availability of anthropogenic food in the city of Zurich, Switzerland |journal=Mammalian Biology |volume=69 |issue=2 |pages=81–95 |doi=10.1078/1616-5047-00123 |bibcode=2004MamBi..69...81C |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Morton |first1=F. B. |last2=Gartner |first2=M. |last3=Norrie |first3=E.-M. |last4=Haddou |first4=Y. |last5=Soulsbury |first5=C. D. |last6=Adaway |first6=K. A. |date=2023 |title=Urban foxes are bolder but not more innovative than their rural conspecifics |journal=Animal Behaviour |volume=203 |pages=101–113 |doi=10.1016/j.anbehav.2023.07.003 |doi-access=free}}</ref> It consumes over 300 animal species including small rodents like mice, ground squirrels, hamsters, gerbils, woodchucks, muskrats, voles, pocket gophers, deer mice, leporids, porcupines, raccoons, opossums, birds with passeriformes, galliformes and waterfowl predominating, reptiles, insects and invertebrates.<ref name=mammals-of-ussr/><ref name=mammals-of-na/> It attacks young or small ungulates on rare occasions.<ref name=mammals-of-ussr/> It typically targets mammals with a weight of up to {{cvt|3.5|kg}} and requires {{cvt|500|g}} of food daily.<ref name=z132/> It hunts its preferred prey when it is abundant, but it can still survive on different prey, as well as seeds and fruit, when it is not available.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Diaz-Ruiz |first=F. |date=2011 |title=Biological patterns in the diet of an opportunistic predator: the red fox ''Vulpes vulpes'' in the Iberian Peninsula |journal=Mammal Review |volume=43 |issue=1 |pages=59–70|doi=10.1111/j.1365-2907.2011.00206.x}}</ref> It occasionally commits acts of surplus killing; during one breeding season, four red foxes were recorded to have killed around 200 black-headed gulls each, with peaks during dark, windy hours when flying conditions were unfavourable. Losses to poultry and penned game birds can be substantial because of this.<ref name=mammals-of-the-brit-isles/><ref name=rwf1987/>{{rp|164}} In some areas, fruit amounts to 100% of its diet in autumn, including blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, cherry, persimmon, mulberry, apple, plum, grape and acorn. Other plant material includes grass, sedge and tuber.<ref name=mammals-of-na/>

In southern Italy, red foxes were observed eating pond slider eggs excavated from nests.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Nardone |first1=V. |last2=Bosso |first2=L. |last3=Della Corte |first3=M. |last4=Sasso |first4=M. |last5=Galimberti |first5=A. |last6=Bruno |first6=A. |last7=Casiraghi |first7=M. |last8=Russo |first8=D. |date=2018 |title=Native red foxes depredate nests of alien pond sliders: Evidence from molecular detection of prey in scats |journal=Mammalian Biology |volume=88 |pages=72–74 |doi=10.1016/j.mambio.2017.11.012 |bibcode=2018MamBi..88...72N }}</ref> Camera traps at an Australian rookery documented red foxes preying on flatback sea turtle eggs.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=King |first1=J. |last2=Whiting |first2=S. D. |last3=Adams |first3=P. J. |last4=Bateman |first4=P. W. |last5=Fleming |first5=P. A. |date=2023 |title=Camera traps show foxes are the major predator of flatback turtle nests at the most important mainland western Australian rookery |journal=Wildlife Research |volume=51 |issue=1 |article-number=WR22109 |doi=10.1071/WR22109 |bibcode=2023WildR..5122109K |doi-access=free}}</ref> The behavior of red foxes hunting wolf cubs was documented in Italy in 2025.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Buelli |first=Celeste |last2=Zanni |first2=Michele |last3=Brogi |first3=Rudy |last4=Cavazza |first4=Silvia |last5=Corbia |first5=Mariano |last6=Luccarini |first6=Siriano |last7=Apollonio |first7=Marco |date=2026-02-13 |editor-last=Schmidt |editor-first=Krzysztof |title=First video-documented observation of red fox preying upon a wolf pup at a den site |url=https://academic.oup.com/cz/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cz/zoag009/8482932 |journal=Current Zoology |language=en |doi=10.1093/cz/zoag009 |issn=1674-5507}}</ref>

Visual cues are the most important ones for the hunting behaviour of the red fox.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Osterholm, H. |year=1964 |title=The significance of distance reception in the feeding behaviour of fox (''Vulpes vulpes'' L.) |journal=Acta Zoologica Fennica |volume=106 |pages=1–31}}</ref> It prefers to hunt in the early morning hours before sunrise and late evening.<ref name=mammals-of-ussr/> Successful hunting in long vegetation or under snow appears to involve its alignment with the Earth's magnetic field.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Červený, J. |author2=Begall, S. |author3=Koubek, P. |author4=Nováková, P. |author5=Burda, H. |name-list-style=amp |title=Directional preference may enhance hunting accuracy in foraging foxes |date=2011 |doi=10.1098/rsbl.2010.1145 |pmid=21227977 |journal=Biology Letters |volume=7 |issue=3 |pages=355–357 |pmc=3097881}}</ref> It typically forages alone, but occasionally aggregates in resource-rich environments.<ref name="Hunter 2011">{{cite book |author=Hunter, L. |title=Carnivores of the World |year=2011 |publisher=Princeton University Press |page=106 |isbn=978-0-691-15227-1}}</ref> When hunting mouse-like prey, it first pinpoints the prey's location by sound, then leap, sailing high above the quarry, steering in mid-air with its tail before landing on target up to {{cvt|5|m}} away.<ref name=IUCN/> It feeds on carrion in the late evening hours and at night.<ref name=mammals-of-ussr/> It seem to dislike the taste of moles, but nonetheless catches them alive and presents them to its young for playing.<ref name=rwf1987/>{{rp|41}} It is possessive of its food and defends its catches even from dominant animals.<ref name=rwf1987/>{{rp|58}}

===Competitors=== thumb|A red fox confronting a gray fox The red fox typically dominates other fox species. Where the red fox and Arctic fox are sympatric, the Arctic fox feeds on lemmings and flotsam rather than voles, as favoured by red foxes. Both species kill each other's kits, given the opportunity.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> The southern range of the Arctic fox is limited by the presence of the red fox; both were introduced to almost every island from the Aleutian Islands to the Alexander Archipelago during the 1830s–1930s by fur companies. The red fox invariably displaced the Arctic fox, with one male red fox having been reported to have killed off all resident Arctic foxes on a small island in 1866.<ref name=rwf1987/>{{rp||page=85}}

The red fox is a competitor of the corsac fox, as they hunt the same prey all year. The red fox is stronger, better adapted to hunting in snow deeper than {{cvt|10|cm}} and is more effective in hunting and catching medium-sized to large rodents. The corsac fox seems to only outcompete the red fox in semi-desert and steppe areas.<ref name=mammals-of-ussr/><ref>{{Harvnb|Heptner|Naumov|1998|pp=453–454}}</ref> In Israel, the Blanford's fox escapes competition with the red fox by being restricted to rocky cliffs and actively avoiding the open plains inhabited by the red fox.<ref name=rwf1987/>{{rp|84–85}} The red fox dominate kit and swift foxes. Kit foxes usually avoid competition with their larger cousins by living in more arid environments, though red foxes have been increasing in ranges formerly occupied by kit foxes due to human-induced environmental changes. Red foxes will kill both species and compete with them for food and den sites.<ref name=mammals-of-na/> The gray fox dominates the red fox wherever their ranges meet. Historically, interactions between the two species were rare, as the gray fox favoured heavily wooded or semiarid habitats as opposed to the open and mesic ones preferred by the red fox. However, interactions have become more frequent due to deforestation, allowing the red fox to colonise gray fox-inhabited areas.<ref name="mammals-of-na"/>

[[File:Interspecific social interaction between golden jackal (Canis aureus) and red fox (Vulpes vulpes) (fig. 1).png|thumb|Female red fox and kits interacting with a male golden jackal in south-western Germany]] The wolf is known to kill and eat the red fox in disputes over carcasses.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/><ref name="Mech 2003">{{cite book |author1=Mech, L. D. |author2=Boitani, L. |name-list-style=amp |year=2003 |title=Wolves: Behaviour, Ecology and Conservation |page=269 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-51696-7}}</ref> In North America where the red fox and coyote are sympatric, their home ranges do not overlap, and interactions between the two species vary in nature, ranging from active antagonism to indifference. The majority of aggressive encounters are initiated by coyotes, and there are few reports of red foxes acting aggressively toward coyotes except when attacked or when their kits were approached. Foxes and coyotes have sometimes been seen feeding together.<ref name="Sargeant 1989">{{cite journal |author1=Sargeant, A. B. |author2=Allen, S. H. |name-list-style=amp |title=Observed interactions between coyotes and red foxes |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |year=1989 |issue=3 |pages=631–633 |volume=70 |jstor=1381437 |doi=10.2307/1381437 |bibcode=1989JMamm..70..631S |url=https://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/mammals/cfoxint/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114195545/http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/mammals/cfoxint/ |archive-date=14 November 2007 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> In Israel, the red fox shares habitat with the golden jackal, and where their ranges meet, they compete due to near-identical diets. The red fox ignores golden jackal scents or tracks and avoids close physical proximity; in areas where the golden jackal is abundant, the red fox population decreases significantly, apparently because of competitive exclusion.<ref name="RF">{{cite journal |author1=Scheinin, S. |author2=Yom-Tov, Y. |author3=Motro, U. |author4=Geffen, E. |name-list-style=amp |title=Behavioural responses of red foxes to an increase in the presence of golden jackals: A field experiment |journal=Animal Behaviour |year=2006 |volume=71 |issue=3 |pages=577–584 |doi=10.1016/j.anbehav.2005.05.022 |s2cid=38578736 |url=http://www.tau.ac.il/lifesci/zoology/members/yom-tov/articles/Behavioural_responses_of_red_foxes.pdf |access-date=24 August 2007 |archive-date=13 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113071230/https://www.tau.ac.il/lifesci/zoology/members/yom-tov/articles/Behavioural_responses_of_red_foxes.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> However, multiple red foxes interacting peacefully with a golden jackal have been observed in southwestern Germany.<ref name=bocker2024>{{cite journal |year=2024 |last1=Böcker |first1=F. |title=Interspecific social interaction between golden jackal (Canis aureus) and red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') |journal=Mammal Research |volume=69 |issue=2 |pages=319–324 |last2=Weber |first2=H. |last3=Arnold |first3=J. |last4=Collet |first4=S. |last5=Hatlauf |first5=J. |doi=10.1007/s13364-024-00737-2 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

[[File:Aquila chrysaetos 1 (Bohuš Číčel).jpg|thumb|A golden eagle feeding on a red fox]]

The red fox is dominant over the raccoon dog and will sometimes kill its kits or bite adults to death. There are documented cases of red foxes killing raccoon dogs by entering their dens. Both species compete for prey similar in size to mice. This competition peaks in early spring when food is scarce. In Tatarstan, red fox predation accounted for 11.1% of deaths among 54 raccoon dogs and amounted to 14.3% of 186 raccoon dog deaths in northwestern Russia.<ref name=mammals-of-ussr/>

The red fox occasionally kills small mustelids like least weasel,<ref name=mammals-of-na/> stone marten,<ref name="z134">{{Harvnb|Sillero-Zubiri|Hoffman|MacDonald|2004|p=134}}</ref> pine marten, stoat, Siberian weasel, European polecat and young sables. Eurasian badgers may live alongside red foxes in isolated sections of large burrows.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> The two species may tolerate each other out of mutualism: red foxes provide Eurasian badgers with food scraps, while Eurasian badgers keep the shared burrow clean.<ref name="dale"/>{{rp|15}} However, there are known cases of Eurasian badgers driving vixens from their dens and destroying their litters without eating them.<ref name=mammals-of-ussr/> Wolverines may kill red foxes, often while the latter is sleeping or near carrion.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/>{{rp|546}} In turn, red foxes may kill young wolverines.<ref name=mammals-of-ussr/>

The red fox competes with the striped hyena over large carcasses. The striped hyena's stronger jaws can easily tear open flesh that is too tough for the red fox. When harassing striped hyenas, it avoids attacks by outrunning them. Sometimes, red foxes seem to deliberately torment striped hyenas even when food is not at stake. However, some red foxes misjudge their attacks and are killed.<ref name=rwf1987/>{{rp|77–79}} The remains of red foxes are often found in striped hyena dens, and striped hyenas steal red foxes from traps.<ref name=mammals-of-ussr/>

The red fox may be preyed upon by the leopard, caracal and Eurasian lynx. The Eurasian lynx chases the red fox into deep snow, where its long legs and larger paws gives it an advantage over the red fox, especially when the depth of the snow exceeds one meter.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> In the Velikoluksky District in Russia, the red fox is absent or seen only occasionally where the Eurasian lynx established permanent territories.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> In North America, the red fox is predated by the cougar, Canada lynx and bobcat.<ref name=lariviere/>

The red fox competes with common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') and northern goshawk (''Accipiter gentilis'') and even steals their kills.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Jankowiak, L. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Tryjanowski, P. |year=2013 |title=Cooccurrence and food niche overlap of two common predators (red fox ''Vulpes vulpes'' and common buzzard ''Buteo buteo'') in an agricultural landscape |journal=Turkish Journal of Zoology |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=157–162 |url=}}</ref> The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') regularly takes young red foxes and preys on adults if needed.<ref name="Watson 2011">{{cite book |author=Watson, J. |title=The Golden Eagle |edition=Second |year=2010 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=978-1-4081-1420-9 |page=92 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aj5MNvCkun0C&pg=PA92}}</ref> Other large eagles such as the wedge-tailed eagle (''Aquila audax''), eastern imperial eagle (''Aquila heliaca''), white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla'') and steller's sea eagle (''Haliaeetus pelagicus'') occasionally kill red foxes.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Lewis, C. F. |year=1957 |title=Wedge-tailed eagle takes a fox |journal=Victorian Naturalist |volume=74 |pages=89–90}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Utekhina, I. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Potapov, E. |author3=McGrady, M.J. |year=2000 |chapter=Diet of the Steller's Sea Eagle in the northern Sea of Okhotsk |chapter-url= |pages=71–92 |title=First Symposium on Steller's and White-tailed Sea Eagles in East Asia |editor1=Ueta, M. |editor2=McGrady, M.J. |publisher=Wild Bird Society of Japan |location=Tokyo, Japan}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Vrezec, A. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Bordjan, D. |year=2009 |title=Population and ecology of the White-tailed Eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla'') and its conservation status in Slovenia |journal=Denisia |volume=27 |pages=103–114 |author3=Perušek, M. |author4=Hudoklin, A. |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265293841}}</ref> Large owls such as the Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'') and snowy owl (''Bubo scandiacus'') prey on young foxes and adults on occasions.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Dixon, C. C. |year=1970 |title=Red Fox predated by Snowy Owl |journal=Blue Jay |volume=33 |issue=2 |doi=10.29173/bluejay3979 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus=Bubo&species=bubo |title=Eurasian Eagle Owl (''Bubo bubo'') |work=The Owl Pages |date=2015 |access-date=10 September 2016 |archive-date=20 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151120022654/http://www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus=Bubo&species=bubo |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Diseases and parasites=== [[File:Vulpes vulpes, Red Fox, Zorro.jpg|thumb|A European fox (''V. v. crucigera'') with mange]] Red foxes are the most important rabies vector in Europe. In London, arthritis is common in foxes, being particularly frequent in the spine.<ref name="mammals-of-the-brit-isles"/> Foxes may be infected with leptospirosis and tularemia, though they are not overly susceptible to the latter. They may also fall ill from listeriosis and spirochetosis, as well as acting as vectors in spreading erysipelas, brucellosis and tick-borne encephalitis. A mysterious fatal disease near Lake Sartlan in the Novosibirsk Oblast occurred among red foxes, but the cause was unclear. Individual cases of foxes infected with ''Yersinia pestis'' are known.<ref name=mammals-of-ussr/>

Red foxes are not readily prone to infestation with fleas. Species like ''Spilopsyllus cuniculi'' are probably only caught from the fox's prey species, while others like ''Archaeopsylla erinacei'' are caught whilst traveling. Fleas that feed on red foxes include ''Pulex irritans'', ''Ctenocephalides canis'' and ''Paraceras melis''. Ticks such as ''Ixodes ricinus'' and ''I. hexagonus'' are not uncommon in red foxes, and are typically found on nursing vixens and kits still in their earths. The louse ''Trichodectes vulpis'' specifically targets red foxes, but is found infrequently. The mite ''Sarcoptes scabiei'' is the most important cause of mange in red foxes. It causes extensive hair loss, starting from the base of the tail and hindfeet, then the rump before moving on to the rest of the body. In the final stages of the condition, red foxes can lose most of their fur, 50% of their body weight and may gnaw at infected extremities. In the epizootic phase of the disease, it usually takes red foxes four months to die after infection. Other endoparasites include ''Demodex folliculorum'', ''Notoderes'', ''Otodectes cynotis'' (which is frequently found in the ear canal), ''Linguatula serrata'' (which infects the nasal passages) and ringworms.<ref name=mammals-of-ussr/> Up to 60 helminth species are known to infect captive-bred foxes in fur farms, while 20 are known in the wild. Several coccidian species of the genera ''Isospora'' and ''Eimeria'' are also known to infect them.<ref name=mammals-of-ussr/> The most common nematode species found in red fox guts are ''Toxocara canis'' and ''Uncinaria stenocephala'', ''Capillaria aerophila''<ref name="Lalošević 2013">{{cite journal |author1=Lalošević, V. |author2=Lalošević, D. |author3=Čapo, I. |author4=Simin, V. |author5=Galfi, A. |author6=Traversa, D. |name-list-style=amp |year=2013 |title=High infection rate of zoonotic ''Eucoleus aerophilus'' infection in foxes from Serbia |journal=Parasite |volume=20 |issue=3 |page=3 |doi=10.1051/parasite/2012003 |pmid=23340229 |pmc=3718516 |doi-access=free}}</ref> and ''Crenosoma vulpis''; the latter two infect their lungs and trachea.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mechouk |first1=N. |last2=Deak |first2=G. |last3=Ionică |first3=A. M. |last4=Toma |first4=C. G. |last5=Bouslama |first5=Z. |last6=Daniel Mihalca |first6=A. |date=2023 |title=First report of ''Crenosoma vulpis'' in Africa and Eucoleus aerophilus in Algeria |journal=International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife |volume=20 |pages=187–191 |doi=10.1016/j.ijppaw.2023.03.003 |pmc=10023903 |pmid=36941973}}</ref> ''Capillaria plica'' infects the red fox's bladder. ''Trichinella spiralis'' rarely affects them. The most common tapeworm species in red foxes are ''Taenia spiralis'' and ''T. pisiformis''. Others include ''Echinococcus granulosus'' and ''E. multilocularis''. Eleven trematode species infect red foxes,<ref name="mammals-of-the-brit-isles"/> including ''Metorchis conjunctus''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=H. J. |year=1978 |title=Parasites of red foxes in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia |journal=Journal of Wildlife Diseases |volume=14 |issue=3 |pages=366–370 |pmid=691132 |doi=10.7589/0090-3558-14.3.366 |doi-access=free}}</ref> A red fox from was found to be a host of intestinal parasitic acanthocephalan worms, ''Pachysentis canicola'' in Bushehr Province, Iran,<ref name="Tavakol2015">{{cite journal |last1=Tavakol |first1=S. |last2=Amin |first2=O. M. |last3=Luus-Powell |first3=W. J. |last4=Halajian |first4=A. |title=The acanthocephalan fauna of Iran, a check list |journal=Zootaxa |date=2015 |volume=4033 |issue=2 |pages=237–258 |doi=10.11646/zootaxa.4033.2.3 |pmid=26624401}}</ref> ''Pachysentis procumbens'' and ''Pachysentis ehrenbergi'' in both in Egypt.<ref name="Gomes 2019">{{Cite journal |doi=10.2478/s11686-019-00080-6| title=A New Species of ''Pachysentis'' Meyer, 1931 (Acanthocephala: Oligacanthorhynchidae) in the Brown-Nosed Coati ''Nasua nasua'' (Carnivora: Procyonidae) from Brazil, with Notes on the Genus and a Key to Species| year=2019| last1=Gomes |first1=A. P. N.| last2=Amin| first2=O. M.| last3=Olifiers| first3=N. |last4=Bianchi| first4=R. de Cassia| last5=Souza| first5=J. G. R.| last6=Barbosa| first6=H. S.| last7=Maldonado |first7=A. |journal=Acta Parasitologica| volume=64| issue=3| pages=587–595| pmid=31286360| pmc=6814649}}</ref>

==Relationships with humans== ===In folklore, religion and mythology=== {{Further|Foxes in culture}} thumb|Reynard the Fox in an 1869 children's book The red fox features prominently in the folklore and mythology. In Greek mythology, the Teumessian fox,<ref>{{Langx|grc|Τευμησ(σ)ία ἀλώπηξ}} (''Teumēs(s)íā alôpēx''),''gen''.: Τευμησίας ἀλώπεκος, also known as ἀλώπηξ τῆς Τευμησσοῦ "fox of Teumessos"; Teumessos was an ancient city in Boeotia.</ref> or Cadmean vixen, was a gigantic fox that was destined never to be caught. The fox was one of the children of Echidna.<ref name="Wallen 2006">{{cite book|author=Wallen, M. |title=Fox |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A0xkcOKOxKsC&pg=PA40 |year=2006|publisher=Reaktion Books |isbn=978-1-86189-297-3 |page=40}}</ref>

In Celtic mythology, the red fox is a symbolic animal. In the Cotswolds, witches were thought to transform into foxes in order to steal butter from their neighbours.<ref name="Monaghan 2004">{{cite book |author=Monaghan, P. |year=2004 |title=The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore |pages=199–200 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=978-0-8160-4524-2}}</ref> In later European folklore, the figure of Reynard the Fox symbolises trickery and deceit. He first appeared as a secondary character under the name of "Reinardus" in the 1150 poem "Ysengrimus", and then in Pierre Saint Cloud's ''Le Roman de Renart'' in 1175. He made his debut in England in Geoffrey Chaucer's ''The Nun's Priest's Tale''. Many of Reynard's adventures may stem from actual observations of fox behaviour: he is an enemy of the wolf and has a fondness for blackberries and grapes.<ref name=rwf1987/>{{rp|32–33}}

Chinese folk tales tell of fox-spirits called ''huli jing'' that may have up to nine tails, or ''kumiho'' as they are known in Korea.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Goff, J. |url=https://eee.uci.edu/clients/sbklein/GHOSTS/articles/goff-foxes.pdf |title=Foxes in Japanese culture: Beautiful or beastly? |journal=Japan Quarterly |volume=44 |issue=2 |year=1997 |access-date=28 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921053659/https://eee.uci.edu/clients/sbklein/GHOSTS/articles/goff-foxes.pdf |archive-date=21 September 2013 }}</ref> In Japanese mythology, the kitsune are fox-like spirits possessing magical abilities that increase with their age and wisdom. Foremost among these is the ability to disguise as human. While some folktales speak of kitsune employing this ability to trick others, other stories portray them as faithful guardians, friends, lovers and wives.<ref>{{cite book |author=Smyers, K. A. |title=The Fox and the Jewel: Shared and Private Meanings in Contemporary Japanese Inari Worship |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-8248-2102-9}}</ref> In Arab folklore, the fox is considered a cowardly, weak, deceitful and cunning animal that feigns death by filling its abdomen with air to appear bloated, then lies on its side, awaiting the approach of unwitting prey.<ref name="fieldiana"/> The animal's cunning was noted by the authors of the Bible who applied the word "fox" to false prophets in the Book of Ezekiel 13:4 and the hypocrisy of Herod Antipas in Luke 13:32.<ref name="BOTF">{{cite book |author=Bright, M. |title=Beasts of the Field: The Revealing Natural History of Animals in the Bible |year=2006 |pages=120–127 |isbn=978-1-86105-831-7 |publisher=Robson Books |location=London |url=https://archive.org/details/beastsoffieldrev0000brig/page/120}}</ref>

The cunning Fox is a common character in native American mythology, where it is often portrayed as a constant companion to Coyote. Fox, however, is a deceitful companion who often steals Coyote's food. In the Achomawi creation myth, Fox and Coyote are the co-creators of the world, that leave just before the arrival of humans. The Yurok tribe believed that in a fit of anger, Fox captured the Sun and tied him to a hill, causing him to burn a great hole in the ground. In an Inuit story, Fox is portrayed as a beautiful woman who tricks a hunter into marrying her, only to resume her true form and leave after he offends her. A Menominee story tells of how Fox is an untrustworthy friend to Wolf.<ref name="Bastian 2004">{{cite book |author1=Bastian, Dawn Elaine |author2=Mitchell, Judy K. |name-list-style=amp |title=Handbook of Native American Mythology |pages=99–100 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-85109-533-9}}</ref>

===Hunting=== {{Further|Fox hunting}} [[File:Bruno Liljefors - Beagle and Fox.jpg|thumb|upright|''Beagle and Fox'' (1885) by Bruno Liljefors]] The earliest historical records of fox hunting date back to the 4th century BC; Alexander the Great is known to have hunted foxes, and a seal dated from 350 BC depicts a Persian horseman in the process of spearing a fox. Xenophon, who believed that hunting was part of a cultured man's education, promoted killing foxes as pests because they distracted hounds from hares. The Romans were hunting foxes by AD 80. During the Dark Ages in Europe, foxes were considered a secondary quarry, but gradually grew in importance. Cnut the Great reclassified foxes as Beasts of the Chase, which was a lower category of quarry than Beasts of Venery. Foxes were gradually hunted less as vermin and more as Beasts of the Chase, to the point that by the late 1200s, Edward I had a royal pack of foxhounds and a specialised fox huntsman. In this period, foxes were increasingly hunted above ground with hounds, rather than underground with terriers. Edward, Second Duke of York assisted the climb of foxes as more prestigious quarries in his ''The Master of Game''. By the Renaissance, fox hunting became a traditional sport of the nobility. After the English Civil War caused a drop in deer populations, fox hunting grew in popularity. By the mid-1600s, Great Britain was divided into fox hunting territories, with the first fox hunting clubs being formed (the first was the Charlton Hunt Club in 1737). The popularity of fox hunting in Great Britain reached a peak during the 1700s.<ref name=rwf1987/>{{rp|21}} Although already native to North America, red foxes from England were imported for sporting purposes to Virginia and Maryland in 1730 by prosperous tobacco planters.<ref name="potts">{{cite book|last1=Potts|first1=Allen|title=Fox Hunting in America|date=1912|publisher=The Carnahan Press|location=Washington|pages=[https://archive.org/details/foxhuntinginamer00pott/page/7 7], 38|url=https://archive.org/details/foxhuntinginamer00pott|access-date=9 July 2016}}</ref> These American fox hunters considered the red fox more sporting than the grey fox.<ref name="potts"/>

{{blockquote|The grays furnished more fun, the reds more excitement. The grays did not run so far, but usually kept near home, going in a circuit of six or eight miles. 'An old red, generally so called irrespective of age, as a tribute to his prowess, might lead the dogs all day, and end by losing them as evening fell, after taking them a dead stretch for thirty miles. The capture of a gray was what men boasted of; a chase after 'an old red' was what they 'yarned' about.<ref name="potts"/>}}

Red foxes are still widely persecuted as pests, with human-caused deaths being one of the main causes of mortality for the species. Annual red fox kills are: UK 21,500–25,000 (2000); Germany 600,000 (2000–2001); Austria 58,000 (2000–2001); Sweden 58,000 (1999–2000); Finland 56,000 (2000–2001); Denmark 50,000 (1976–1977); Switzerland 34,832 (2001); Norway 17,000 (2000–2001); Saskatchewan (Canada) 2,000 (2000–2001); Nova Scotia (Canada) 491 (2000–2001); Minnesota (US) 4,000–8,000 (average annual trapping harvest 2002–2009);<ref name=MNDNRTrapHarvest2008>{{cite book|last1=Dexter|first1=Margaret|title=Trapping Harvest Statistics|date=8 December 2009|publisher=Minnesota Department of Natural Resources|page=282 (Table 5)|url=http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/publications/wildlife/populationstatus2009/7_trapping_harvest.pdf|access-date=21 December 2014|archive-date=25 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140825062640/http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/publications/wildlife/populationstatus2009/7_trapping_harvest.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> New Mexico (US) 69 (1999–2000).<ref name="z134"/>

===Fur use=== thumb|Red fox pelts [[File:Vöyri - Fur farm - July 2020.jpg|thumb|A red fox in a fur farm in Vörå, Finland]]

Red foxes are among the most important fur-bearing animals harvested by the fur trade. Their pelts are used for trimmings, scarfs, muffs, jackets and coats. They are primarily used as trimming for both cloth coats and fur garments, including evening wraps.<ref name="bachrach"/>{{rp|229–230}} The pelts of silver foxes are popular as capes,<ref name="bachrach"/>{{rp|246}} while cross foxes are mostly used for scarves and rarely for trimming.<ref name="bachrach"/>{{rp|252}} The number of sold fox scarves exceeds the total number of scarves made from other fur-bearers. However, this amount is overshadowed by the total number of red fox pelts used for trimming purposes.<ref name=bachrach/>{{rp|229–230}} The silver colour morphs are the most valued by furriers, followed by the cross colour morphs and the red colour morphs, respectively.<ref name="dale"/>{{rp|207}} In the early 1900s, over 1,000 American red fox skins were imported to Great Britain annually, while 500,000 were exported annually from Germany and Russia.<ref name="dale"/>{{rp|6}} The total worldwide trade of wild red foxes in 1985–86 was 1,543,995 pelts. Red foxes amounted to 45% of U.S. wild-caught pelts worth $50 million.<ref name="z134"/> Pelt prices are increasing, with 2012 North American wholesale auction prices averaging $39 and 2013 prices averaging $65.78.<ref>{{cite web |title=NAFA February 2013 Fur Auction Results |url=http://trappingtoday.com/index.php/category/fur-prices/ |website=Trapping Today |date=22 February 2013 |access-date=9 July 2013 |archive-date=26 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130626072523/http://trappingtoday.com/index.php/category/fur-prices/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Red foxes in North America, particularly those in northern Alaska, are highly valued for their fur. They have guard hairs with a silky texture that allows unrestricted mobility after dressing. However, red foxes living in southern Alaska's coastal areas and the Aleutian Islands are an exception, as their pelts are extremely coarse and rarely fetch more than a third of the price of those from northern Alaska.<ref name="bachrach"/>{{rp|231}} Compared to North American varieties, most European peltries have coarse-textured fur. The only exceptions are Nordic and Far Eastern Russian pelts, which are still inferior to North American pelts in terms of silkiness.<ref name="bachrach"/>{{rp|235}}

===Livestock and pet predation=== thumb|A carcass of a lamb near a red fox den [[File:Urban fox and rabbit.jpg|thumb|A red fox in a Birmingham garden investigating a rabbit hutch]]

Red foxes may occasionally prey on lambs. Usually but not always, the lambs targeted are physically weakened specimens. Lambs belonging to smaller breeds, such as the Scottish Blackface, are more vulnerable than larger breeds, such as the Merino. Twins may be more vulnerable to red foxes than single lambs, as ewes cannot effectively defend both simultaneously. Crossbreeding small, upland ewes with larger, lowland rams can result in difficult and prolonged labour for ewes due to the heaviness of the resulting offspring, making them more vulnerable to predation by red foxes. Lambs born to first-time mothers (gimmers) are more often killed by red foxes than lambs born to experienced mothers, who stick closer to their young.<ref name=rwf1987/>{{rp|166–167}}

Red foxes may prey on domestic rabbits and guinea pigs if they are kept in open runs or are allowed to roam freely in gardens. This problem can be avoided by housing them in robust hutches and runs. Urban red foxes often encounter cats and may feed alongside them. In physical confrontations, the cats usually have the upper hand. Cases where red foxes have killed cats usually involve kittens. While most red foxes do not prey on cats, some may do so and may treat them more as competitors rather than food.<ref name=rwf1987/>{{rp|180–181}}

===Taming and domestication=== {{Further|Domesticated silver fox}} thumb|A young boy holding a tame red fox kit

In their unmodified wild state, red foxes are generally unsuitable as pets.<ref>{{cite news|author=Jones, Lucy |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/pets/news-features/why-we-love-keeping-foxes-at-home---despite-the-smell/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/pets/news-features/why-we-love-keeping-foxes-at-home---despite-the-smell/ |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Why we love keeping foxes at home - despite the smell |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=7 May 2016 |access-date=10 September 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Many supposedly abandoned kits are adopted by well-meaning people in spring, although it is unlikely that vixens would abandon their young. Actual orphans are rare, and those that are adopted are probably just kits that have strayed from their dens.<ref>{{cite news |author=Karim, Fariha |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/environment/article/why-having-mr-fox-to-stay-is-not-such-a-fantastic-idea-after-all-d3wrv7b2c |title=Why having Mr Fox to stay is not such a fantastic idea after all |newspaper=The Times |date=8 September 2016 |access-date=10 September 2016 |archive-date=8 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160908140537/http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/why-having-mr-fox-to-stay-is-not-such-a-fantastic-idea-after-all-d3wrv7b2c |url-status=live }}</ref> Kits require almost constant supervision; when still suckling, they require milk at four-hour intervals day and night. Once weaned, they may become destructive to leather objects, furniture and electric cables.<ref name=rwf1987/>{{rp|56}} Though generally friendly toward people when young, captive red foxes become fearful of humans, save for their handlers, once they reach 10 weeks of age.<ref name=rwf1987/>{{rp|61}} They maintain their wild counterparts' strong instinct of concealment and may pose a threat to domestic birds, even when well-fed.<ref name="dale"/>{{rp|122}} Although suspicious of strangers, they can form bonds with cats and dogs, even ones bred for fox hunting. Tame red foxes were once used to draw ducks close to hunting blinds.<ref name="dale"/>{{rp|132–133}}

White to black individual red foxes have been selected and raised on fur farms as "silver foxes". In the second half of the 20th century, a lineage of domesticated silver foxes was developed by Russian geneticist Dmitry Belyayev who, over a 40-year period, bred several generations selecting only those individuals that showed the least fear of humans. Eventually, Belyayev's team selected only those that showed the most positive response to humans, thus resulting in a population of silver foxes whose behaviour and appearance was significantly changed. After about 10 generations of controlled breeding, these foxes no longer showed any fear of humans and often wagged their tails and licked their human caretakers to show affection. These behavioural changes were accompanied by physical alterations, which included piebald coats, floppy ears in kits and curled tails, similar to the traits that distinguish domestic dogs from grey wolves.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Trut, Lyudmila N. |url=http://www.hum.utah.edu/~bbenham/2510%20Spring%2009/Behavior%20Genetics/Farm-Fox%20Experiment.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100215131052/http://www.hum.utah.edu/~bbenham/2510%20Spring%2009/Behavior%20Genetics/Farm-Fox%20Experiment.pdf |archive-date=15 February 2010 |title=Early canid domestication: The farm-fox experiment |journal=American Scientist |volume=87 |issue=2 |year=1999 |pages=160–169 |doi=10.1511/1999.20.813|bibcode=1999AmSci..87.....T |s2cid=120981396 }}</ref>

===Urban red foxes=== {{Commons category|Urban foxes (Vulpes vulpes)|urban foxes}} ====Distribution==== Red foxes have been extremely successful in colonising built-up environments, particularly lower-density suburbs,<ref name="z132"/> although they have also been sighted in densely populated urban areas far from the countryside. Throughout the 20th century, they have established themselves in many Australian, European, Japanese and North American cities. The species first colonised British cities during the 1930s, entering Bristol and London during the 1940s, and later established themselves in Cambridge and Norwich. In Ireland, they are now common in suburban Dublin. In Australia, red foxes were recorded in Melbourne as early as the 1930s, while in Zurich, Switzerland, they only started appearing in the 1980s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thefoxwebsite.org/urbanfoxes/index.html |title=Urban foxes: Overview |publisher=The fox website |access-date=20 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130916075909/http://www.thefoxwebsite.org/urbanfoxes/index.html |archive-date=16 September 2013 |url-status=usurped}}</ref>

Urban red foxes are most common in residential suburbs consisting of privately owned, low-density housing. They are rare in areas where industry, commerce or council-rented houses predominate.<ref name="z132"/> In these latter areas, the distribution is of a lower average density because they rely less on human resources; the home range of these foxes average from {{cvt|80|-|90|ha|km2 acre}}, whereas those in more residential areas average from {{cvt|25|-|40|ha|km2 acre}}.<ref name="Urban Foxes">{{cite book|last1=Harris|first1=Stephen|title=Urban Foxes|date=1986|publisher=Whittet Books |location=London |isbn=978-0-905483-47-4}}</ref>

In the UK, it is estimated that the number of urban foxes rose from 33,000 in 1995 to 150,000 foxes in 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/the-secret-life-of-urban-foxes.html|work=Natural History Museum|title=The secret life of urban foxes|first=Emily|last=Osterloff|date=2 September 2019|access-date=8 January 2026}}</ref> City-dwelling red foxes may scavenge food from litter bins and bin bags: research in 2025 suggests that human-generated food comprises 35% of urban fox diet, compared to just 6% for their rural counterparts.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Ecology and Evolution|title=Utilisation of Anthropogenic Food by Red Foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Britain as Determined by Stable Isotope Analysis|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ece3.70844|first1=Jonathan W. J.|last1=Fletcher|first2=Simon|last2=Tollington|first3=Ruth|last3=Cox|first4=Bryony A.|last4=Tolhurst|first5=Jason|last5=Newton|first6=Rona A. R.|last6=McGill|first7=Paul|last7=Cropper|first8=Naomi|last8=Berry|first9=Krishnaveni|last9=Illa|first10=Dawn M.|last10=Scott|date=28 February 2025|access-date=8 January 2026|doi=10.1002/ece3.70844|via=Wiley Online Library}}</ref> As a result of this difference in diet between urban and rural populations, city-dwelling red foxes tend to grow larger than their rural counterparts.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thenaturenetwork.co.uk/urban-vs-rural-foxes-myths-facts-behaviour-in-uk-gardens/|title=Urban vs. Rural Foxes: Myths, Facts & Behaviour in UK Gardens|first=Sarah|last=Whitmore|date=25 November 2025|access-date=8 January 2026}}</ref> It has been observed that urban foxes tend to have shorter and wider muzzles, smaller braincases and reduced sexual dimorphism relative to rural individuals: this is thought to be as a result of differing biomechanical demands of feeding or cognition between habitats.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article/287/1928/20200763/85692/Skull-morphology-diverges-between-urban-and-rural|journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B|title=Skull morphology diverges between urban and rural populations of red foxes mirroring patterns of domestication and macroevolution|first1=K. J.|last1=Parsons|first2=Anders|last2=Rigg|first3=A. J.|last3=Conith|first4=A. C.|last4=Kitchener|first5=S.|last5=Harris|first6=Haoyu|last6=Zhu|doi=10.1098/rspb.2020.0763|date=3 June 2020}}</ref>

====Behaviour==== Urban red foxes are most active at dusk and dawn, when they do most of their hunting and scavenging. They are rarely seen during the day, but can sometimes be spotted sunbathing on the roofs of houses or sheds. They will often make their homes in hidden, undisturbed spots in urban areas, as well as on the outskirts of cities, visiting at night to find food. They sleep in dens at night.

While urban red foxes can scavenge successfully in cities, eating anything that humans eat, some people deliberately leave food out for them, finding them endearing. Doing this regularly can attract red foxes to one's home, where they can become accustomed to human presence. They may even allow themselves to be approached or played with, particularly the young kits.<ref name="Urban Foxes"/>

====Urban red fox control==== Urban red foxes can cause problems for local residents. They are known to steal chickens, rummage through rubbish bins and damage gardens. Most complaints about urban red foxes made to local authorities occur during the breeding season, which is from late January/early February to late April/early August.<ref name="Urban Foxes"/>

In the UK, hunting red foxes in urban areas is banned, and shooting them in an urban environment is not a suitable alternative. Trapping them appears to be a more viable alternative to hunting urban red foxes.<ref name=Fieldsportschannel>{{cite web|title=Fieldsports Britain: How to call in great big bucks|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3doTc9A31Y |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211215/D3doTc9A31Y |archive-date=15 December 2021 |url-status=live|publisher=Fieldsports Channel |date=24 October 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref> However, killing red foxes has little effect on their urban population; the foxes that are killed are quickly replaced by new kits during the breeding season or by other foxes moving into the territory of those that were killed. A more effective method of controlling red foxes in urban areas is to deter them from specific areas. Deterrents such as creosote, diesel oil or ammonia can be used for this purpose. Cleaning up and blocking access to dens can also discourage red foxes from returning to urban areas.<ref name="Urban Foxes"/>

====Relationship between urban and rural red foxes==== In January 2014 it was reported that "Fleet", a relatively tame urban red fox tracked as part of a wider study by the University of Brighton in partnership with the BBC TV series ''Winterwatch'', had unexpectedly traveled 195 miles in 21 days from his neighbourhood in Hove at the western edge of East Sussex across rural countryside as far as the town of Rye, near the eastern edge of the county. He was still continuing his journey when the GPS collar stopped transmitting due to suspected water damage. Along with setting a record for the longest journey undertaken by a tracked red fox in the United Kingdom, his travels have highlighted the fluidity of movement between rural and urban red fox populations.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01qfhsb |title=BBC Two - Winterwatch, Urban Fox Diary: Part 2 |website=BBC |date=23 January 2014 |access-date=10 September 2016 |archive-date=9 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209183707/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01qfhsb |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-sussex-25840467 |title=Fleet the Sussex fox breaks British walking record |publisher=BBC News |date=22 January 2014 |access-date=10 September 2016 |archive-date=15 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190915133240/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-sussex-25840467/fleet-the-sussex-fox-breaks-british-walking-record |url-status=live }}</ref>

<gallery widths="200" heights="160"> File:Red fox crossing road.jpg|An urban red fox crossing a city street in Denver, Colorado File:Urban fox at night.webm|An urban red fox in a built-up area in London, England File:Fox with food bag.jpg|An urban red fox eating from a bag of biscuits in Dorset, England File:Fleet Fox AKA Rolf, Winterwatch Brighton.png|"Fleet", the urban red fox from the BBC TV series ''Winterwatch'' </gallery>

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading== * {{Cite journal|last1=Osborn|first1=Dale. J.|last2=Helmy|first2=Ibrahim |name-list-style=amp |title=The contemporary land mammals of Egypt (including Sinai) |periodical=Fieldiana |series=New Series |number=5 |publisher=Field Museum of Natural History|url=https://archive.org/details/contemporaryland05osbo|year=1980}} * {{Cite book|last1=Sillero-Zubiri|first1=Claudio|last2=Hoffman|first2=Michael|last3=MacDonald|first3=David W. |name-list-style=amp |url=http://www.canids.org/cap/index.htm|title=Canids: Foxes, Wolves, Jackals and Dogs – 2004 Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan|publisher=IUCN/SSC Canid Specialist Group|year=2004|isbn=978-2-8317-0786-0|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006222952/http://www.canids.org/cap/index.htm|archive-date=6 October 2011}} * {{Cite journal|last1=Spagnesi|first1=Mario|last2=De Marina Marinis|first2=Maria |name-list-style=amp |title=Mammiferi d'Italia|journal=Quaderni di Conservazione della Natura|year=2002|issn=1592-2901}}

==External links== {{Commons|Vulpes vulpes|the red fox}} {{Wikispecies|Vulpes vulpes|Red fox}} {{Wiktionary|Fox}} * {{ITIS |id=180604 |taxon=''Vulpes vulpes'' (Linnaeus, 1758) |access-date=18 March 2006}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070707230002/http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/red-fox.html Red Fox], National Geographic * [https://www.wildlifeonline.me.uk/animals/group/foxes Natural History of the Red Fox], Wildlife Online * [http://planetsave.com/2010/09/07/extinct-fox-not-extinct-found-in-california/ Sacramento Valley red fox info1] * [http://ofnc.ca/programs/fletcher-wildlife-garden/flora-and-fauna-at-the-fwg/red-foxes-at-the-fwg Red Fox], Fletcher Wildlife Garden

Category:Arctic land animals Category:Articles containing video clips Category:Carnivorans of Asia Category:Carnivorans of Europe Category:Carnivorans of North America Category:Necrophages Category:Extant Middle Pleistocene first appearances Category:Fauna of the Holarctic realm Category:Introduced mammals of Australia Category:Mammals described in 1758 Category:Mammals of the Arctic Category:Symbols of Mississippi Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Category:Vulpes