Wild Fact #789 – Seeing Red Everywhere – Red Fox
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Red_Fox_cubs.jpg
The people that know me know that today’s Wild Fact is on an animal that is near and dear to my heart. Those same people are probably expecting today’s fact to be similar to my University thesis but I am still saving that fact for a special occasion. Today I wanted to share some other interesting information about the Red Fox. Don’t mind if I get teary eyed throughout this fact as it reminds me of a fox I followed around one winter. Good ol’ Campus Fox was great but an unfortunate automobile accident ended his life way too early (and messed with my thesis data!) All right, back to the task at hand. Let’s take a second to learn about the cunning and curious Red Fox.
The red fox can be found all across the world in various habitats including cities, forests, farms, fields, deserts and mountains. I am starting to think the only places they don’t live is the ocean and space. Who knows, I guess there could still be a Space Fox living somewhere out there. As you can imagine the diet of the red fox is just as diverse as their habitat. They will feed on anything from rodents, birds, fish, worms, rabbits, fruit and even garbage.
The red fox is a solitary hunter and will hunt alone except during mating season. There solitary hunting behaviours are more closely related to our friendly, furry, feline, friends (how is that for an alliteration? My English teacher would be so proud) then their canine relatives. During the mating season the female (vixen) will give birth to a litter of 2 to 12 pups. You may not know that when these little guys are first born they actually have a brown or gray coat. It is only after the first month that they will get their red coat. Although, it is also important to note that not all red foxes have a red coat. Some have a golden, silver, brown or even black coat. Even nature knows that true fashion comes in many colours.
Well that does it for today’s fact but I can assure you that there will be another Red Fox fact before we finish the next 788 Wild Facts.
Have a great day!
