Foxes Factsheet

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information on the environment / eolas ar an gcomhshaol

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FoxesIrish name: Madra Rua

French name: Renard

German name: Rotfuchs

DescriptionRed foxes vary in colour frompale yellow to deep reddishbrown, with white or paleunderside. The tail is thick, long

and bushy, almost always with awhite tip. Foxs ears are quitelong and pointed.

Body length 50-100cm

Tail length 30- 45cm

Hind Foot 13-16cm

Paw length 5cm

Height at shoulder 30-40cm

Weight 4 9 kg

Range & Habitat

After humans, foxes are one ofthe most widespread of animalson earth. They can live in deepforest, arctic tundra, opengrassland or city streets, but theyprefer areas of highly variablevegetation. Their favourite placeto live is in or near scrub,woodland or other tall

vegetation. In cities, urban foxesprefer areas of detached or semi-detached housing with largegardens.

A Foxs Home

Foxes live underground in densor earths. These are just likerabbit holes only bigger. In fact,sometimes a den is made froman old rabbit hole or a badgersset.

Foxes usually have a number ofdens within their territory.Outside of the breeding season,they may spend much of their

time above ground in thick cover.During the breeding season thevixen selects a den in which tohave her cubs, once born thecubs may be moved from den toden if disturbed. Many dens haveonly one or two entranceswhereas breeding dens may haveseveral entrances.

In urban areas foxes live athigher densities than in thecountryside. This is probably dueto urban foxes having a moreregular source of food thanks tous! In Dublin fox densitiesaverage around 1.04 fox familiesper km2. In rural areas densitiesmay be several times lower thanthis.

How to recognise a denFox dens are often concealed inthick undergrowth and can behard to locate, unlike badgersetts, which are moreconspicuous. Often all that isseen of the dens are runsthrough the undergrowth madeby foxes travelling to and fromthe den.


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that they eat other animals aswell as plants. Among the foxsfavourite foods are rabbits, birdsand small rodents, such as rats.

Sometimes the fox gets a badname from farmers who blamethem for killing lambs andpoultry. Foxes in fact rarely preyon lamb and it makes up a verysmall part of their diet. Wherelamb or sheep is taken it is mostoften scavenged from animalsthat have already died fromother causes. Foxes do, however,

prey on poultry and will takechickens or other poultry that isnot properly fenced in.

Birds eggs are a real delicacy andvery nutritious too, so notsurprisingly, foxes will take themwhenever they can. A fox willbite into the egg so the wholeshell is broken and then lick upthe yolk and egg white off theground. Sometimes if a fox findsan egg but isnt hungry, it will

hide it under some moss, as it istoo delicate to carry back to theden.

In the summer and autumn, themany different fruits and berriesavailable become a major part ofthe diet. In particular, cherriesand plums, which are eatenwhole from the ground.

Evidence of a kill

When a fox eats a mouse or asmall bird, there is rarely muchsign left of the kill. The prey isusually eaten whole. The onlyevidence of a kill would be a fewtufts of fur, some feathers or afew drops of blood. For biggerkills it can be equally difficultdetective work. Depending onhow hungry the fox is or how bigthe kill is, it may decide to bringthe kill home to the den, leaving

very little trace above ground.More often than not the fox willeat his kill above ground, leavinghints such as droppings or paw

female (the offspring of aprevious year) will remain in theterritory and help to rear thecubs. Very occasionally twofemales may rear cubs in thesame territory or even in thesame den.

Males fight to defend theirterritory during the matingseason in January and February. Afemale fox, a vixen, is pregnantfor 53 days and has a single litterper year. Cubs are born inMarch/April and the average

litter is of 4-6 cubs. The tiny foxcubs only weigh 50-150 grams atbirth and are not able to opentheir eyes till they are at least 9-14 days old. At 4-5 weeks of agethey are finally able to leave theden but still need their mother tolook after them until they areweaned at 8-10 weeks. Duringthis time the vixen may chooseto move her cubs several timesto different dens for safety.

The fox family stay together untilthe autumn, by which time thecubs are adult sized. At this timethe young will disperse from theparents range to find their ownterritory. Young males will moveup to 40km away and youngfemales up to 10km.Once the

young have established a newterritory they will stay there forlife.

The fox cubs will be mature

enough by the following matingseason to start their ownfamilies. In captivity, foxes canlive for up to 12 years, but in thewild, with dangers like traffic,hunting and fights betweenmales, foxes typically only live for3 or 4 years.

Feeding habits

Foxes are nocturnal creatures

that is, they are most active atnight. If undisturbed, they maybe seen during the day as well.Foxes are omnivores. This means

In urban areas dens are usuallylocated in dense undergrowth orneglected gardens. Often urbandens may be located under shedsor other man-made features andoccasionally they are locatedunder or even inside houses! Foxden locations in Dublin haveincluded: gardens, sheds,compost heaps, a churchbasement, a utility room of aprivate house (amongst thelaundry!) and in a scrap car in a

junkyard!

How to tell if a den is inuse

Stick your head a little into theentrance hole and have a goodsmell! If you get a sharp acridcarnivore smell then the denhas foxes in it.

Look for food remains likebones and feathers spread outaround the entrance. This could

mean that there are young inthe den.

In good weather foxes like todo a bit of sunbathing outsidethe den. Look for signs oftrampled grass near theentrance.

The droppings, urine and foodremains left by foxes make forvery fertile soil. As a result, lotsof plants will be growingnearby, especially in spring,

maybe even some unusualones that need very rich soil.

In urban gardens fox cubsoften make their presenceknown through collecting toys,boots and other bric-a-brac,demolishing flowerbeds androoting up lawns.

Family Life

A home range is typicallyoccupied by a breeding male, abreeding female and their cubs.Often a second non-breeding

WILDLIFE / Foxes / WL 33


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When looking for fox tracks, becareful not to confuse them withdog tracks, as they are quitesimilar. Here is a table to help

you tell the difference betweenthem.

Fox Track

Small pads (5cm in width aprox.)

Front paws are distanced fromthe central pad

All the pads are spaced apart

The claw marks are slender andlong

A foxs track is more slender andelongated compared with that ofa dog

Dog Track

Large pads (size variable)

Front paws are close to thecentral pad

All the pads are close together

The claw marks are short androunded

A dogs track is rounder andshorter than that of a fox

Droppings

Fox droppings can be quite easyto recognise, so youll know if a

fox has been about.They aresimilar to that of a dog but arespirally twisted with a point atone end. The colour can varybetween black and greydepending on what the fox hasbeen eating. Berries in autumngive a darker colour whereasanimal bones give a palerwhitish colour. Fur, feather andbone fragments of small animalscan be found in droppings all

year round. In the summer, thehard outer skeleton of insectscalled chitin may be seen. Beetlesare a particular favourite.

Because foxes use the distinctsmell of their droppings to markout their territory, droppings willcommonly be found in elevatedplaces such as tree stumps, tallgrasses or on large rocks.

Communication

Like all other mammals, foxesleave their distinctive smelleverywhere they go. Usually thisis to mark out their territory forother foxes. The smell includes

information as to whether thefox is male or female, and howold and healthy or strong it is.During the mating season foxesget particularly smelly! Scentscan say whether a female ispregnant or even if she has

young cubs. Scent is a veryimportant form ofcommunication.

Fox talk

Foxes have up to 20 differentcalls, 8 of which are just used bycubs. Foxes are actually quitequiet in that they will only callabout once every five hours.Some of these calls are friendlyand can be quite complex,whereas others are aggressiveand much simpler. Here is a listof the 8 most commonly heardfox calls.

Barks/ yells: By far the mostcommon calls. These areaggressive calls used to mark outterritory.

Shrieks: By vixens to attract dogfoxes in winter; long callsstarting gradually making it easyto find the caller

Growls: Very like a dogs growland also used as a threat

High whines: Usually follow

barksWow-wow barks/ staccato barks:multiple barks (3-6), which can

prints. However, the bones oflarger animals will be discardedoutside the den when the meal isfinished, so that would be a goodplace to look to see what yourfoxes have been eating.

Some Fox Foods

Rabbits EggsHares InsectsRats Worms

Mice Fruit Hedgehogs ScrapsBirds

Tracks

A track is the footprint an animalleaves in the ground. Did youknow that foxes have five toeson their front paws but only fouron their hind paws? The fifth toeon the front paw is raised upthough, so it doesnt actuallyshow in the track. Unlike us the

left and right footprint or pawprint are almost identical so itcan be difficult to tell them apartif you only find one print. It iseasier to tell the fore and hindpaws apart, as the forepaw isslightly larger then the hind paw.

INFORMATION ON THE ENVIRONMENT / EOLAS AR AN GCOMHSHAOL

Fox track

Dog track


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WILDLIFE / Foxes / WL 33

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Information Service,17 St Andrew Street,Dublin 2, Ireland.

Tel: (01) 8883910Locall: 1890 200191Fax: (01) 888 3946e-mail: [email protected]

Write to or visit our Centre at the aboveaddress or you may check out the ENFOinformation stands at your Local AuthorityOffice / County Library

ENFO is a service of the Department of theEnvironment,Heritage and Local

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be heard far away and are usedfor friendly communication

Ratchet calls: A short burst ofsharp c-c-c-c-c sounds. Ritualisedaggressive call.

Yell whines: Signifies intensesubmission to another fox

Screams: Defensive or threatcalls

References:

Bang, Preben (1974) Collins Guide

to Animal Tracks and Signs.Collins, London.

Delany, M.J. (1982) MammalEcology. Blackie & Son Ltd,London

Harris S. (1986) Urban Foxes.Whittet Books Ltd., London

Hayden T. & Harrington R. (2000)Exploring Irish Mammals. TownHouse Ltd., Dublin.

Nowak, Ronald, M (1999) 6thEdition Walkers Mammals of theWorld, Vol 1. The John HopkinsUniversity Press, London.

Van den Brink, F.H. (1977) A fieldGuide to the Mammals of Britainand Europe. Wm Collins Sons &Co., Ltd, London.

Thanks to:

David Wall, Dept of Zoology, UCD

Dr John Rochford, Dept Of

Zoology, TCD

Written by Justine Cavanagh

Foxes Factsheet

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