The fox is very fast, ferocious and cunning predator. But this does not mean that she herself does not become a victim of stronger predators.

There are many different predators that consider it good food. Since the fox is medium in size, this makes it fairly easy prey for many large animals. At the same time, she is not too difficult to defeat.

And in today's article we will talk about who can be a potential enemy for this animal.

Lynx

Asking the question "Who eats the fox?" immediately you need to answer - lynx. The lynx is an animal that lives next to the fox. They are very experienced hunters with powerful jaws. The fox for this kind of cat is habitual food. In most cases, when these two animals meet, the fox dies and becomes food for the stronger cat.

Wolves

Despite the fact that he, like the fox, is a canine, that is, in fact, relatives, he will still hunt her. Since wolves live in a pack, and it consists of a large number of individuals, they can bypass their prey from different directions. They begin to move towards the prey, forming a tight circle, so that the victim has no way to escape.

Since one, even an adult fox, will not be enough to feed all the members of the pack, the wolves will begin to hunt for large quantity animals.

In general, it is not their favorite treat. Yes, and small in size, especially for voracious young males. However, if there is little food in the forest, or other habitat, then the wolves will begin to practice cannibalism.

For this reason, in some areas of the planet they meet each other as enemies, and in other areas as representatives of the canine family.

The wolf is a very wise hunter and will do his best to provide enough food for his entire pack. Therefore, in regions where there are problems with living creatures and foxes and wolves live, the former are in serious danger.

By the way, this is what the statistics say. In those regions where there are no wolves, but there is a fox, she feels almost completely safe. Moreover, in such regions there is a rapid increase in the number of "redheads". On average, their population has doubled, and in some places even tripled in the absence of wolves.

The fox is one of the most beautiful predators. The color of the skin is red, the tail is long and fluffy, the muzzle is long and narrow, and the eyes are smart and cunning. The fox is about the size of a small dog. The color of the red cheat varies from fiery red to gray. In the north, foxes are almost red, in the steppe they are gray-yellow. Silver fox, by the way, is also an ordinary fox with some deviations from normal coloring. The most beautiful is black-brown fur. Therefore, silver fox has long been bred on farms.

The fox lives in Europe, and in Asia, and in America, and in Africa. This animal adapts well to different climatic conditions. Southern foxes are smaller than northern foxes, and besides, northern foxes have thicker and fluffier fur. The fox is an extremely agile and frisky animal. She runs so fast that it is difficult for dogs to catch up with her. In addition, this is a very cunning beast: she can indulge in various tricks, confusing her own tracks or getting her own food.

What does a fox eat. How the fox hunts

The fox is a great hunter. In addition to observation and ingenuity, she has excellent memory, good sense of smell and remarkably acute hearing. The squeak of a vole, for example, a fox hears for 100 m. Being a predator, the fox eats a wide variety of animals. She eats mice, hares, rabbits, amphibians, reptiles with pleasure, digs up earthworms from the ground after rain, catches fish and crayfish in the river. But he especially loves red cheat enjoy the bird. Therefore, she often looks into chicken coops. By the way, the proximity of a person does not scare a fox at all, so you can often find a fox hole very close to the village. The fox successfully supplements the meat diet with berries, apples, and vegetables.

Each fox has its own individual feeding area. She jealously guards him from the intrusion of strangers and always knows what is happening near her hole. The fox usually hunts in the evening and at night, although there are exceptions. Some animals prefer to go around hare nesting sites during the day, hunt birds and feed exclusively on large game, neglecting mice or frogs.

Despite the fact that the fox will not miss the opportunity to feast on a gaping hare, catch a black grouse or ruin a bird's nest, in the forest it does much more good than harm. The main food of foxes are voles, mice, ground squirrels and other rodents that are harmful agriculture. And the growing foxes in in large numbers exterminate May beetles - known pests in forest areas.

Mating season for foxes

The mating season for the fox begins in January - February. At this time, the female rushes to search for males, who declare their readiness to marry with a short, abrupt bark. During the rut, you can see an amazing group: a beautiful female runs ahead, and several males follow her at once. In the end, the patience of males is depleted, it's time to choose which of them is worthy to take a place next to the female. You can watch fierce fights between males, during which the fox patiently waits in the direction of the winner. Only the strongest fox gets the right to mate with a female. At the end of estrus, the foxes scatter to the sides.

fox cubs

Pregnancy in foxes lasts 51 - 52 days. By the end of this period, the paternal instinct wakes up in males. They search for pregnant females and again fight with rival males, now for the right to stay near the female. From now on, the winner takes all the hardships family life: helps to dig a hole, feeds the fox at a time when she still cannot leave newborns, shares with the female the responsibility for raising young foxes. Fox cubs usually appear in late April or early May.

At first they are brown in color and very similar to puppies, but they all have hallmark- white tip of the tail. The young generation is growing up quickly, by the 20th day of life they are already beginning to crawl out of the hole and feed not on mother's milk, but on live food. It is not easy for the father of the family to feed the voracious cubs, so the female also begins to help in the extraction of food. Parents not only bring live mice, birds and small animals into the hole, but also begin to teach the kids the basics of hunting. At first, the cubs prey on May beetles and grasshoppers, but gradually they become accustomed to preying on larger game: voles, lizards, and frogs.

Fox cubs grow rapidly, and already in August it is difficult to distinguish them from a distance from an adult animal. In November, young foxes begin independent life and disperse in all directions.

Where does the fox live: the habits of the fox. fox holes

Foxes don't always live in burrows. They use these dwellings only when raising offspring, and spend the rest of the time on open space. Foxes have almost no feelings of home. They settle where they like, and even then not for long. The fox willingly digs holes near human dwellings, sometimes foxes wander even into big cities. The fox often does not want to dig a hole on its own and uses other people's dwellings, for example, the fox has great respect for comfortable burrows dug by a badger.

A mature fox acquires burrows not only in order to grow offspring in them or hide from prolonged bad weather. Often burrows serve as a refuge for them in case of danger.

The old fox, as usual, has not one hole where her brood is placed, but several at once, which provide her with a reliable refuge in exceptional cases.

Fox hatching holes are mainly located on the slopes of a ravine, not far from a stream, in a forest thicket, that is, where people usually do not wander. It happens that the fox from year to year returns to the hole dug by her once. Then such "apartments" are constantly expanding, being renovated, acquiring several additional "rooms", which are usually located on 2 - 3 floors. Hunters are well acquainted with such holes and call them "secular".

Usually, a fox hatching hole is equipped with several exits - otnorks, which allow it to leave its shelter unnoticed in case of danger. The main snout, which the fox regularly uses to enter and exit, is noticeable from afar. Usually this is a clean area, sprinkled with sand, which appeared here as a result of many years of cleaning the hole. Here you can often see playing foxes.

The fox's molting period

By the end of winter, the fox coat, previously shiny and fluffy, begins to fade and becomes rough. The fox begins a period of molting - hair falls out, and the beast loses its external attractiveness. Molting occurs quite quickly, and by May the foxes acquire a new fur coat - summer. If the fox is sick or thin, the molting period is extended, and then even in June you can see a fox with disheveled winter fur. Summer wool is not valued: it is coarse and rare, since there is practically no undercoat - with the beginning of autumn, the wool begins to thicken. And only with the onset of cold weather fox fur begins to be considered full-fledged.

Fox hunting. How to hunt a fox

For fox hunting to be successful, the hunter must learn about all the habits of this cunning beast. In addition, you need to learn how to unravel the fox trail and distinguish it from the dog. For an experienced tracker, a fox trail can tell a lot: about the age and gender of the past fox, about where the beast was and what he did, whether he was hungry or full. The tracker reads the footprints, as in open book and this can only be learned through continuous practice.

Compassion as a diagnosis.

And tell me, dear ones, what does compassion indicate? Such an event happened. Someone threw newborn kittens under the windows, in the heat, as planned, they did not die and screamed for almost a week ...

Fox, thanks to the ability to adapt to the most different conditions, mastered everything climatic zones and all continents except Antarctica.

Systematics

Russian name - common or red fox
English name - red fox
Latin name - Vulpes vulpes
Squad - predatory (Carnivora)
Family - Canids (Canidae)
Genus - foxes (Vulpes)

Conservation status of the species

The animal is common throughout its range.

View and person

The red fox is very widespread, found in many countries, has a bright appearance and, of course, is not deprived of human attention. The fox is a constant character in fairy tales, legends, myths. She embodies cunning and deceit, acting in quite a variety of roles: from treacherous villains (in most Russian fairy tales) to smart advisers (as in Boris Shergin's fairy tale "Poyga and the Fox"). Both in the east and in the west, there are legends about werewolves-foxes that can turn into seductive women, give magical gifts, and often destroy people who trust them. In Japanese mythology, werefoxes (kitsune) have great knowledge and wield magic. Kitsune later became popular in literature, film, and video games. Similar spirits also appear in Chinese and Korean myths. In Mesopotamian mythology, the fox is a sacred animal; it serves as a messenger for the goddess Ki. In Finland, the fox is a symbol of cunning, but not of evil.

This beauty has taken her place in heraldry, she is a symbol of insight, cunning, insight.

The fox has a big economic importance as a valuable fur-bearing animal, at the same time it exterminates many rodents and insects - consumers of grain, is an object of sport hunting and serves as a wonderful decoration of nature. Of course, the fox is a predator and destroys a certain amount of game, but the damage that foxes do to game and poultry is much less than the benefit they bring in protecting our fields from rodents. However, in countries Western Europe the fox is considered a harmful predator subject to year-round extermination. And this is quite justified, since the fur of the local animals is of little value, and in sports farms they breed a lot of feathered game, which suffers from foxes.

Foxes living near hiking trails, boarding houses, in places where hunting is prohibited, quickly get used to the presence of a person and even begin to beg. However, wild foxes are one of the carriers of the rabies virus, so some care must be taken.

Foxes are bred in captivity for their fur. AT late XIX centuries, a breed of silver-black (black-brown) foxes was artificially bred. Then, thanks to selection, the quality of fur was significantly improved (compared to the wild type) in this breed, and a number of other color variations based on it were bred: platinum, Bakurian, Dakota and others.

Distribution and habitats

The range of the common fox is one of the largest among all mammals. It covers almost the entire non-tropical part of the northern hemisphere - Eurasia (except for the extreme southeast), North America (except for the Mexican Highlands), and the extreme north of Africa.

On this vast territory, the beast inhabits almost all natural areas- forests of various types, tundra, steppe, arid regions, highlands. She lives on the "Pole of Cold" in Yakutia, and in the hot Arabian deserts. No fox only in arctic deserts Far North, where the arctic fox occupies its niche.

This "ubiquitous" animal prefers open and slightly overgrown areas with copses, ravines and gullies. The habitat conditions for it are optimal in the forest-steppe and steppe - here the fox is found everywhere. In extensive forest areas, especially where the winter is long and snowy, it comes across less often. In areas with a dry climate, foxes can often be found along dry ancient riverbeds covered with tugai thickets. In many places, she prefers to settle next to a person. In the vicinity of large cities, it constantly keeps close to landfills, which serve as sources of food.

Appearance and morphology

The fox is a very beautiful, slender animal with a characteristic long pointed muzzle. The coloration and size of these animals differ greatly. geographical variability- more than 25 subspecies are known. In general, foxes become larger and brighter towards the north of their range, smaller and duller colored towards the south. In males, body length is 50–90 cm, height at the shoulders is 35–50 cm, weight is from 2.5 to 10 kg, females are somewhat smaller. In winter, because of the lush fur, the fox looks squat, with a massive body, in summer - lean, high-legged. The fur cover is dense, rather short and coarse in summer, lush and soft in winter.

The forest fox is called “fire fox” for its bright coloring: on top it is reddish-red, throat and chest are white, ears with back side and the front side of the legs are black, the tail is red with a white tip. AT northern regions with harsh climatic conditions often there are foxes with a predominance of black pigment in the coat - melanin. "Sivodushki" are called foxes with a gray-brown back, reddish-yellow sides and a dark brown belly; "crosses" - even darker animals, in which the dark color of the paws is merged with a wide "belt" on the back; "silver fox" - animals with a skin of black-brown or black color.

The sense organs of the fox are similar to other canines. She has excellent hearing - for a hundred meters she hears the squeak of a mouse. Vision is much weaker, mostly the fox reacts to moving objects, but calmly standing man does not distinguish, sometimes, even in 10 steps. At the same time, this predator has an excellent visual memory, noticing the slightest changes in the situation near the hole. The sense of the fox is somewhat worse than that of the dog.

Feeding and feeding behavior

The fox, although it belongs to typical predators eats a wide variety of foods. Among the food it eats are more than 300 species of animals and several dozen species of plants. Throughout the basis of its nutrition are rodents, primarily voles. The fox eats both hares and birds, mainly small passerines, chickens, and waterfowl. On the Far East The foxes living on the islands, like the arctic fox, feed mainly on sea waste, and during the spawning run of red fish they also eat it. In the southern arid regions, a significant proportion of the diet is made up of reptiles - lizards and non-venomous snakes. During the mass flight of the locust, the predator becomes insectivorous. With a lack of natural animal feed, the fox systematically attacks poultry. At the end of summer - autumn, she often visits melons and vineyards, picks up fallen apples, pears, cherry plums, cherries.

While hunting for small rodents - "mouse" - the fox looks very funny. You can see her doing this activity most often in winter, on a snowy field. Having entered into excitement, she seems to be dancing in one place, bouncing on her hind legs and hitting the ground with force with her front ones. In this way, the predator drives frightened rodents out of their holes to the surface, where it catches. At the same time, she sometimes gets so carried away that she lets her very close. The fox eats the caught trifle whole, without stopping. More big booty she drags them aside, partially eats them, and buries the remains in the ground. If you're lucky, several foxes gather near the carrion or carcass of a large ungulate slaughtered by wolves. Here they live for several days. The fox, unlike the wolf, never gorges itself “to satiety”, usually 300-350 grams of meat per day is enough for her. However, with an abundance of mouse-like rodents, the predator does not stop hunting for them even after saturation: she does not eat them after being caught, but after catching them, she plays like a cat.

Vocalization

Lifestyle and behavior

The fox is a rather sedentary animal, however, the protection of the territory, apparently, is not peculiar to it, and the hunting areas of different animals overlap. On its territory, the fox actively uses scent marks, leaving the secret of the paracaudal glands on the branches and trunks of young trees. The animal has such marks in many places of its hunting area, which is up to 10–15 km in diameter. The fox knows his site very well and systematically examines it. In winter it daily course averages 8–12 km. This distance accounts for up to 4 temporary beds where she rests, and about 50 places where she stops and sits down.

The fox deftly climbs steep slopes and swims well. May climb trees if they are leaning or branching low to the ground. There is a known case when a fox hid from dogs in a bird's nest located at a height of 10 meters above the ground.

Regular migrations of the fox, unlike the arctic fox, are also unusual. They are observed only in the tundra, desert and mountains. For example, one of the fox tagged in the Malozemelskaya tundra was caught 600 km to the southwest. Young dispersing females, leaving the parental burrow, go to a distance of up to 10–15 km. Male fox cubs are prone to longer journeys, moving away from the parental burrow by 30–40 km or more.
Foxes move more often at a small trot, while the hind legs exactly fall into the tracks of the front ones and a covered track is obtained - the beast seems to be walking along a thread. The prints are drawn in an even chain, only slightly shifting the centers of the right prints to the right from middle line, and the left to the left. The length of the steps is 20-40 cm, more often about 30 cm. In this gait, the tracks of foxes are unmistakably different from those of dogs, which never move so smoothly.

Foxes are active mainly at dawn and dusk, but in those places where they are not pursued, they hunt in different time days, and do not show any anxiety at the sight of people. Otherwise, the fox is extremely cautious and amazing ability, leaving the chase, confuse the tracks and indulge in all sorts of tricks to deceive the dogs.

Reproduction and education of offspring

The start of breeding in the fox falls in the middle - the end of winter: in the south it is December, in the north - February. At this time, the animals are very excited and almost do not rest, their "weddings" can be seen among white day. It happens that one female is pursued by 5-6 males who yelp and fight among themselves.

After graduation mating season the animals disperse and begin to live on their own. However, shortly before the birth of the babies, the males again take up the pursuit of the females with passion and again fight among themselves. It has been noted that it is not always their educator who becomes their fox cub. real father. Professor P. A. Manteuffel, who observed a lot of foxes in nature, in the zoo and on fur farms, believed that a substance appears in the urine of pregnant foxes that serves as the causative agent of the paternal instinct in males. This property is very useful for the survival of the species, as it provides the foxes with the attention and care of both parents.
Before giving birth, the expectant mother cleans the burrow and most spends time in it. When fox cubs are born, she practically stops coming out of the hole, and the fox has to hunt a lot in order to feed herself and her. The male leaves the prey at the entrance to the hole, and he is not allowed to the cubs.

From 2 to 12 babies (on average 4-6) are born in the spring blind, with closed auricles. The body is covered with a short, dark-brown baby down, but the tip of the tail is already white. They grow and develop quickly: at the age of two or three weeks, their eyes and ears open, teeth begin to erupt. The cubs begin to crawl out of the hole, try "adult" food, and the mother also has to hunt to feed her offspring.

Like wolves, foxes with small cubs do not hunt near the hole. There are cases when huntsmen systematically observed a grouse brood near a fox hole, and the birds grew safely and took to the wing. Pegan ducks living in steppe zone, sometimes they successfully breed chicks not just nearby, but in branches of residential fox holes.

The cubs grow up, and at the age of one month they already meet their parents at the entrance to the hole, returning from hunting, play for a long time. Milk feeding lasts 6-7 weeks, at which time the babies begin to try to hunt on their own. From the age of two months, puppies are already leaving the “home”, moving further and further, showing greater independence. However, the parents continue to feed them until the end of the summer, and the family adheres to their native hole. In autumn, young animals often move to an independent life, but it happens that the whole family stays in the brood hole for the winter.

Some young females are already on next year begin to breed and, in any case, reach sexual maturity by the age of two, males acquire offspring 1–2 years later.

Lifespan

In captivity, life expectancy is up to 25 years; in the wild, only a few animals live up to 8–10 years.

Keeping animals in the Moscow Zoo

The foxes live on the Old Territory of the zoo in a large enclosure next to the "Cat's Row", opposite the red wolves. As in nature, animals are more often active in the morning and evening hours, and during the day they sleep, curled up, either in houses or on them. When they are given food, they eat some and try to hide the rest. Since there are two foxes, each is afraid that the neighbor will not find her hiding place and hides the food many times. Between themselves, the foxes live peacefully, and if something is not pleasant in the behavior of a partner, then they urge him to maintain a distance with a very characteristic pose. The animal slightly lowers its head, presses its ears, opens its mouth and makes a peculiar sound - something between whimpering and coughing. Thus, conflicts, if they happen, are resolved peacefully.

One of the foxes is very shy, leaves the house infrequently during the day. Another is not afraid of people, can come close to the grate, but do not try to stroke or feed her - she can bite.

Another fox can be seen in one of the enclosures at the Fauna of Russia exposition. There are foxes in the visiting section of the zoo. These animals go to lectures in schools, kindergartens, museums, participate in holidays. These animals are very tame. But in order for them to become so, the cubs must fall into the hands of a trainer very small and grow up in constant contact with people. People, on the other hand, need to exert a lot of patience so that the animals, having become adults, have unlimited trust in their “big brothers”.

In the zoo, foxes live for a long time, delighting in winter with their magnificent fur coat, and in summer surprising with long thin legs and large ears. Their diet is very diverse: from fruits and vegetables to fish and meat.

The fox is one of the most beautiful predatory animals. She has a graceful elongated body, slender legs, long fluffy tail. Head with pointed muzzle and large erect ears.

Common fox photo.

The fox is about the size of a small dog. body length adult is from 60 to 90 cm, the length of the tail is from 40 to 60 cm. The weight of the fox usually does not exceed 10 kg. Foxes living in northern latitudes, often larger than their southern cousins.

The fur of the fox is long and fluffy, for the most part colored red. belly more often white color, less often - black. How lives to the north fox, the brighter its color. Sometimes in nature there are foxes with an unusual color - black-brown, white. During the year, foxes molt twice, changing their fur either for winter - thick and long, then for summer - rare and short.

Spreading

The habitat of the common fox is very wide. It is found in Europe and Asia, North America and North Africa. Foxes live in different landscapes - in forests and steppes, in deserts and tundra, in mountains and on flat terrain. But still they prefer open spaces with copses and ravines.

Fox in the forest photo.

Lifestyle

Foxes live in pairs or families. They usually lead sedentary life, occupy a site on which they hunt and arrange a dwelling for themselves for the night and breeding. In deserts and tundras, where long distances have to be covered in search of food, foxes migrate from one place to another.

Foxes dig deep holes in the ground with narrow passages and a wide nesting chamber. They usually make their burrows on the slopes of ravines or hills, protected by dense grass and shrubs. Often, not one, but two or even more passages lead to the nesting chamber. This allows foxes to run away from pursuers in case of danger.

Fox with cubs near the hole photo.

The fox is a very cautious and intelligent animal, she easily leaves the chase, skillfully confusing the tracks and resorting to all sorts of tricks. The fox has a good sense of smell and hearing, thanks to which it easily detects its prey. The fox is able to make sounds reminiscent of the yapping barking of a dog.

Nutrition Features

Foxes are predators, so their main diet consists of animal food. Foxes prey on both small animals (voles, mice, hamsters) and larger ones (hares and roe deer cubs). On occasion, the fox will not refuse to catch a bird or a chick, it can willingly eat eggs from a nest found in the grass. With a lack of food, the fox can eat carrion.

Most often, voles, small mouse-like rodents, become prey for foxes. Usually they make up the main menu of foxes, especially in winter, when food is scarce and very difficult to get. In winter, the fox has developed its own way of hunting for small rodents, which is called mouse. This method consists in the fact that the fox listens to the rustles and sounds under the snow, and when he hears the squeak of a vole, he quickly jumps headlong into the snow, tears it apart with his paws and tries to catch the rodent.

Fox hunting photo.

Sometimes foxes drag poultry from the yards - geese or chickens, but this does not happen too often.

AT warm time foxes supplement their diet with plant foods - berries, herbs, fruits.

fox breeding

Foxes usually breed once a year. To that important event animals are prepared in advance - even in winter. Foxes find suitable places for holes and guard them from others.

Several males can take care of one female at once. They often fight among themselves, seeking the favor of the female.

The male chosen by the female becomes a good family man. He takes care of the female, helps her to improve the hole, and when the foxes appear, he participates in their upbringing.

A fox's pregnancy lasts from 49 to 58 days. After that, from 4 to 13 fox cubs are born. Cubs are born blind and deaf, but at the age of two weeks they begin to see and hear, by the same time their teeth erupt.

Fox cubs photo.

The fox feeds the cubs with milk for a month and a half. Gradually, fox cubs are accustomed to ordinary adult food. To do this, foxes have to hunt a lot to bring prey home.

If something happens to the fox father and he dies, then some other fox who has no offspring takes over his care. He takes care of both the female and the cubs.

When the cubs grow up, their parents take them hunting with them and teach them how to get food. By autumn, the cubs become independent and leave the parental hole.

Brief information about the fox.

Who is this fox? How she looks, where she lives and what she eats, what habits she has - our message will tell about all this.

What kind of animal is this. What does a fox look like

The fox is a carnivorous animal that belongs to the canine family.

Externally similar to a medium-sized dog, but her habits are more cat-like. On her flexible body is a neat head with a sharp muzzle and mobile, always alert, large dark ears, legs are short, thin, but strong.

The fur coat of this animal deserves special attention - it is magnificent, beautiful, the color can be different. Most often there are bright red foxes, but there may also be black, black-brown, silver. There is such a pattern: in the northern regions, the fur of these animals is thick and bright, but the farther south, the more modest it is both in density and in color. And the tail of the foxes is very beautiful - long, up to 60 cm, fluffy, always with a white tip. Foxes are only hunted for their valuable fur.

Hearing and sight, smell and touch

Foxes have excellent hearing. She can hear the rustling of a mouse in a hole, the distant flapping of wings and the murmur of a hare from a hundred paces away. Her large ears, like locators, are very good at identifying the source of a sound. The fox also knows how to determine the distance from where the sound flew to it.

This animal has an interesting vision: far-sighted eyes are adapted to notice even the smallest movement of a blade of grass, see well in the dark but the fox does not distinguish colors well, so it can come very close to a motionless person.

She has a good sense of smell, but many other animals have a much sharper sense of smell.

Very good for foxes developed sense of touch softly and inaudibly stepping on the ground, leaves or snow, they feel the smallest details with their springy paws. They can find a hole or with their paws alone.

Where live

Foxes can be found throughout the northern hemisphere of the Earth, even in.

They are dig holes for themselves with multiple entrances and exits and underground tunnels that lead to the nest.

Sometimes they occupy other people's dwellings, for example, badger holes. Here they breed and take refuge from danger. They spend a lot of time in the den in the open, under a bush, in grass or snow. They sleep very soundly.

What do they eat

Fox - predator, excellent, very fast and dexterous hunter. From the very process of hunting, she gets great pleasure. Its prey is small rodents, moles,. He likes to feast on eggs, eats insects, their larvae, worms, catches fish, crayfish. In times of famine, it does not disdain carrion. Can diversify the diet with berries and fruits.

By the way, exterminating rodents and beetles, the fox brings great benefits to agriculture.

reproduction

The mating season for foxes falls on January-February. Several males take care of one female at once, who fight to the point of blood among themselves. With the winner, the fox creates a pair. Foxes are good parents. They do everything together - dig a hole, raise offspring, get food.

Pregnancy of the female lasts 2 months, in early spring in a hole 5-7 blind and deaf puppies are born(the so-called fox cubs). At 2 weeks, puppies begin to see and hear, their teeth erupt. But for a month and a half, the babies do not leave the hole, eating mother's milk. Only in June, the cubs begin to go outside with their parents. They play and frolic in the sun, learning to hunt.

In mid-autumn, foxes leave the family for an independent life. At 2 years old, they are already able to breed.

fox species

All in nature there are more than 20 types these animals. The most common is the common Red fox. There are also African, Bengal, gray, sandy, small, Brazilian and other types of foxes.

One of the most interesting is Fenech. This is a miniature fox with an interesting appearance, it is even smaller in size than a cat .. Lives in North Africa.

habits

Why in all fairy tales, the fox is quick-witted, cunning and insidious, dexterous and smart? Because she really is. One can only wonder how this beast can confuse tracks, deceive game, pretend and dodge. Although you should not attribute any incredible abilities to the fox.

Intelligence and cunning are just an animal instinct that nature endowed her with so that the fox could survive.

If this message was useful to you, I would be glad to see you