Wild fox. Common fox, description, habitat, lifestyle, what it eats, reproduction, photo, video

Fox- one of the most popular heroines of children's fairy tales. But the Fox, as a fabulous image, is endowed with features characteristic of these animals in reality. The fox is beautiful: a magnificent tail, which is slightly less than half the length of the body, a red coat and a roguish narrow-nosed muzzle with beautiful brown eyes. Besides A fox slim, graceful, weighs 6-10 kilograms.

What does a fox look like

fox they also call it red, and this is actually true, only her belly is white, gray or slightly brownish, and her chest is light. Fox's back and sides various parts colored in different ways: from bright red to gray.

In the northern forests, Foxes are fiery red and more, in the forest-steppe - yellowish-gray and less. Sivodushki, krestovki, silver fox - these are ordinary foxes with deviations from the usual color. Black-brown fur is the most beautiful: guard hairs with white upper parts give the fur a silvery tint.

Such Foxes have been bred many years ago on fur farms, black-brown Foxes are very rare in nature.

summer fox fur hard and short, in it she looks lean, big-headed and even long-legged, he suits Lisa less than winter. And by autumn, winter fur grows - beautiful, thick. Shedding Fox once a year - in the spring.

Fox habits

The fox is a good hunter. In addition to being observant and quick-witted, she has a wonderful visual memory, good sense of smell and acute hearing. The mouse squeaks a little, and fox hears it is a hundred meters away, a vole rustles on dry grass under a half-meter layer of snow - and hears it. It climbs well on steeps, swims, and on the shore it is exceptionally maneuverable. Her ingenuity on the hunt or when escaping from her pursuers is admirable.

Fox will be able to climb a tree if it is slightly inclined or branches low from the ground. The fox is very active. She knows her hunting area to the smallest detail, systematically inspects it. patterned chains in winter fox footprints bizarrely cross fields, copses, ravines, getting lost on roads and paths and intertwining around stacks of straw, stacks of dry soybean stalks, piles of deadwood and in other places where mice and voles live.

There was, and still is, an opinion that the fox food - hares. Of course, the Fox loves the hare, but she can not catch up with the hare often - where can she keep up with such a runner.

However, Foxes do well without hare. It is estimated that there are more than 300 different animals in the diet of the Fox, from insects to large birds.

And yet the main fox food - rodents. They occupy 80-85% of her diet. To get enough, the Fox needs to catch and eat at least two dozen mice and voles a day. And where fox feeding- and the area of its feeding area is on average 10 kilometers in diameter - there are much fewer rodents than where there are no foxes.

After the rains, the fox collects earthworms in abundance. in shallow water Fox successfully catches fish, crayfish, takes out shells. It happens that half-eaten prey remains, and then the Fox hides it, dragging it along different places. Then she will certainly find these reserves and eat them.

It is characteristic that, being typical predator, Fox having fun eating berries, apples, some vegetables.

Fox hunts, as a rule, at dusk and at night, during the day it can be seen only in a low-feeding period, most often in winter, and even in summer, when foxes grow.

Norami the fox enjoys mainly during the rearing of offspring, and the rest of the time prefers to rest on open space: under the roots of a twisted tree, in a ravine, on a haystack.

fox breeding

Mating season for foxes starts from the end of January - in February, and in the north and in March, although even before that you can often see a male and a female in a pair. At wedding time, in March, several males court one female, and fights between them are a common occurrence. During the rut, the Foxes are very excited, often yelping and howling, especially loners who have not yet found a mate for themselves.

Males and females can be distinguished by their voices. Fox female makes a triple bark and ends it with a short howl, and the male barks more and more like a dog. Having retired, couples play a lot, they even arrange peculiar dances: the Fox rises on its hind legs and walks in this position with small steps. From this dance got its name foxtrot(The word "foxtrot" is English and means "fox step").

Male foxes are good family men. They not only take an active part in raising young animals, but also touchingly take care of their girlfriends long before they give them lovely foxes: they carry food, improve burrows.

fox cubs in a litter there are from 4 to 12, but most often 5-6. They appear after 51-53 days of pregnancy, usually at the end of April or in the first half of May. fox cubs born weak and helpless, deaf and blind, weighing only 100-150 grams, but grow quite quickly. In less than a month, they already see, hear, weigh about 1 kilogram, come out of the hole, and soon begin to play and frolic. From that time on, Fox's parents bring them half-dead game so that the cubs acquire hunting skills.

As soon as a person even accidentally stumbles upon the Fox hole, as on the very next night The foxes will be transferred to another place, in a spare hole, there are usually several of them at the Foxes on the site. If Foxes are in danger, adults discover amazing presence of mind. Even when a person breaks a hole with a shovel, they try to the last to save their children - to bring them out through one of the otnorks.

fox cunning

Sometimes you can see in fox behavior actions resembling episodes from fairy tales. For example, the fox approaches the black grouse, gathered on the current in an open meadow, surprisingly cunningly: she pretends that they are not at all interested in her, does not even look in their direction; sometimes it will lie down, take a nap, and the birds lose their vigilance, go about their business - very much Lisa is a good actress.

In the meantime, Patrnkeevna will advance a meter or two towards them. The Fox does not spare time for the game: sometimes such a performance lasts an hour or two. Then a few lightning-fast jumps - and the hunt was victoriously completed.

Not many animals are called by name and patronymic. But the Fox is often called that way. Moreover, her middle name is unusual - Patrikeevna. About 600 years ago, there lived a prince named Patrikey Narimuntovich, famous for his resourcefulness and cunning. Since then, the name Patrickey has become equivalent to the word cunning. And since the Fox has long been considered by the people as a very cunning beast, then as the heiress of the famous prince, she received Patrikeevna's patronymic.

Being a typical predator, the Fox eats berries, apples, and some vegetables with pleasure.

Little foxes they fight well with pests such as May beetles.

Foxes live throughout Europe, Asia, North America and North Africa.

The fox is a carnivorous mammal and belongs to the canine family. Depending on the species, the size of this animal is up to 90 cm in length, and the weight can reach 10 kg.

The fox is distinguished by an elongated graceful body, an elongated muzzle, pointed ears and a fluffy tail. Large and elongated ears help foxes pick up sounds, and a long tail Helps keep balance while running and protects from the cold.

The fur of foxes most often has a yellow, sandy or red color. In summer, the fox sheds, and by winter it grows a new coat, thick and lush, necessary to protect against the cold. The winter coat of this animal is long and beautiful. In ancient times, fox hair was even equated with money.

The fox is a predator, it feeds on small rodents - mice, ground squirrels. It is generally accepted that rabbits are the favorite food of foxes, but this is not entirely true. Because of her short legs, it is difficult for her to catch up with such a fast animal as a hare. Although the fox is capable of reaching speeds of up to 50 km / h, it cannot pursue prey for a long time.

In addition to rodents and hares, the fox loves to eat birds, eggs from ruined nests, fruits and berries.

For hunting, foxes choose the dark time of the day or early morning. The fox relies mainly on touch and smell. Her eyes, although adapted to see in the dark, do not distinguish colors.

In winter, the fox is engaged in mousekeeping. This hunt requires all her dexterity, excellent hearing and quick wits. The fox is able to hear the animal over 100 m. She listens to the movement of a rodent under the snow and, as soon as she detects it, rises on her hind legs and, bringing her front paws close, dives sharply into the snow. If the thickness of the snow cover is small, then the fox simply digs it up and takes out the field mouse.

Having caught the prey, the fox does not chew the meat, but gnaws it into small pieces and swallows it.

Foxes are incapable of stockpiling, so if they catch a rodent but are full, they just play with the prey like cats until the rodent stops showing signs of life. Because of this feature, people used foxes in fruit fields to exterminate pest pests.

Foxes mostly lead sedentary life. Young individuals go no further than 20-30 km from the parental den. These animals prefer open areas, they are rarely found in wooded areas. Foxes live in a hole that they dig on the slopes of hills or floods of rivers. Several passages are made into the hole, which lead through long tunnels to a common nesting place. In it, foxes sleep and raise puppies.

Foxes find a mate to raise their offspring together. Puppies are born once a year. One brood can have up to 16 puppies. Fox cubs are born blind, toothless and deaf. After two weeks, they already begin to see, hear and bark. The mother feeds the babies with milk. Gradually, parents teach them to hunt and eat meat food.

The life span of foxes in nature is up to 10 years. In a zoo, a fox can live up to 20-25 years.

Questions about the report:

1. Where are foxes found?
2. What do they eat?
3. What is the name of the fox's house?
4. How many babies are born and how often?
5. How long do foxes live?

A fox happens only in fairy tales, you need to say it correctly - a fox, but most hunters still use the first name. Also, males are often called foxes.

Description

The fox is a very dexterous, smart, cunning animal with a slender and beautiful, elongated body and a long bushy tail. Her muzzle is long and pointed. The body length of adults is 50-90 cm, the tail is long and makes up more than half of the body - 35-60 cm. Average weight- 4-6kg. Females are slightly lighter and smaller than males.

Foxes living in the central and northern regions of the country are dressed in long, thick, soft, silky and lush fur in winter. They are larger and brighter colored. Animals inhabiting the southern regions are distinguished by a rare, rough and short cover, painted in dull colors. Against the background of their northern counterparts, they look more slender and tall, their ears are taller and wider at the base.

At red fox in our country, the following subspecies are distinguished: Central Russian fox, forest-steppe, steppe, North Caucasian, Anadyr, Yakut, Transbaikal and Tobolsk

The general coloration is from bright red to grayish-brown, with a cruciform pattern on the back of varying clarity. The chest and belly are usually white, the backs of the ears are black, and the tip of the tail is always white.

However, due to the very vast range and, as a result, completely different climatic conditions habitats, its geographical and individual variability is pronounced.

The following types are distinguished according to the type of coloring:

- red,
- sivodushka,
- cross,
- black-brown.

For a detailed description of the skins, see the article ""

Habitat and abundance

It inhabits almost the entire territory of our country, except for the regions of the northern tundra and the islands of the Polar Basin, where it is replaced by the arctic fox.
They are well adapted to a variety of habitat conditions, they can be found in the mountains, taiga, tundra, steppe and desert. But in all areas they prefer open and semi-open spaces.

In the tundra and forest-tundra, they adhere to forests in river valleys and near lakes. In the deep taiga zone, the predator is rare in large tracts of forest, with an abundance of swamps and the absence of meadows and valleys; it avoids such biotopes due to deep loose snow remaining long time. The best places habitats can be considered the central and southern regions of Russia, where small areas of forest are interspersed with numerous ravines, rivers, fields and meadows.
In autumn and winter, foxes spend most of their time in open areas; in spring and summer, during the breeding season, they go to remote places.

The number of animals in the country is quite large. Population density directly depends on the quality of land and the availability of fodder. It is rare in permafrost regions and in forests with long and deep snow cover - the northern regions of the European part of Russia and the taiga zone of Siberia. IN middle lane the number of animals is relatively high. The highest density is observed in the southern regions, this is due to short winter, abundance and availability of food almost all year round, favorable burrowing conditions.

The area of its habitat is approximately 5-10 km in circumference. Its value depends on the quality of the land, their forage, as well as the time of year. IN summer period when food is plentiful and varied, the area is reduced. In winter, when the availability of food deteriorates, it increases.

Often a fox, especially in lean years for food, comes close to housing.

In the middle lane, foxes settle in holes, sometimes they dig them themselves, but, as a rule, they occupy badgers. It is not difficult to determine who owns the dwelling: if a badger lives in a hole, then it is clean near it, if a fox - around you can observe numerous heaps of droppings and leftover food. In the absence of a ready hole, you have to dig it yourself. To do this, the animal chooses the slopes of ravines, cliffs with sandy soil, and sometimes makes shelters in abandoned houses and barns.

Fox holes can be divided into two types: brood and temporary. The latter have a short straight course, ending in a small cave or completely arranged under the roots of trees and in the rubble. Broods are more complicated, the main course is longer and may have several branches. The nesting chamber is lined with leaves and grass.

Lifestyle and habits

At the end of winter, foxes start rutting, at this time you can observe the so-called "fox weddings" - several males follow one female. After the rut, having found a hole for herself, the female leads a secretive lifestyle and spends most of her time in the hole. Pregnancy lasts 50-52 days. The brood consists of an average of 4-6 foxes. They are born blind, toothless and covered with fluffy hair. Lactation lasts 6-7 weeks. The cubs begin to see clearly on the 13-14th day, teeth appear a little later. At the age of one month, they begin to leave the hole and gradually switch to food brought by their parents. At first, the male brings food to the female, but as the cubs grow, he appears less and less at the brood hole.

In the first months of life, fox cubs look short-legged and large-headed and look like cubs. The main difference between foxes is the white tip of the tail. At the age of three months, the offspring begins to accompany the mother and quickly learns to recognize enemies and look for food. The proportions of adult animals are achieved after six months of life.
Closer to autumn, the family breaks up, and young animals become independent.

The fox is a predator, and an omnivore. The objects of hunting of this animal are very diverse. The main food is mouse-like rodents, most often different kinds gray voles. Other types of feed are eaten much less. If possible, hares, upland and waterfowl, small birds and their eggs can serve as food. Sometimes she eats snakes, lizards, frogs, fish, insects, plant foods. In some cases, it eats carrion and domestic animals - cats and chickens.

The animal is very plastic in terms of nutrition. With a shortage of one food, she replaces it with another, more accessible and plentiful.
However, despite the extensive list of feeds, nevertheless leading role play everywhere small rodents. In winter, when the redhead is hunting in the evening, you can watch how she cleverly catches them. The mouse fox slowly moves across the field, but, suddenly freezing, jumps high and quickly begins to dig up the snow.

It prefers to hunt alone, but sometimes several individuals can be observed simultaneously in one field.
During the search for food, the animal is guided mainly by hearing: at 100 meters it hears the squeak of a mouse, at 500 meters the noise from flying black grouse. The vision of the fox is well developed, but it reacts mainly to movement. Her senses are also excellent.

It is active mainly in the morning and evening hours. In those places where the beast is little disturbed, it can hunt during the day. Most time to rest during the day and a little at night.

In late summer and early autumn, the family usually leaves the brood hole and leads a vagrant lifestyle. At this time, the cubs stay with their mother and use empty burrows as shelters. In late autumn, the brood disintegrates completely, and young animals begin an independent life.

In winter, foxes often rest on their beds, they climb into holes only in case of danger and in severe frosts.

At first glance, its track looks like a dog's, but, looking closely, you can see that the fox has it narrower and slimmer. Also characteristic difference from related species is the practically correct line of the chain of traces that the animal leaves when moving at a walk or trot. The trail of the female is smaller, narrower and sharper, and the step is shorter than that of the males.

It moves mainly at a light trot, in this case the distance between the tracks is 20-30 cm. In case of danger, it switches to a gallop or a quarry, while it can make jumps up to several meters long.

In a snowless period, the presence of an animal can be determined by paw prints on wet ground and the barking that they emit. In winter, you can see the most complete picture of the activity of the fox.

Patterns of her footprints are common along the edges of the forest, ravines, meadows and fields. During the hunt, the chain of fox footprints quite often changes direction, not a single object protruding from under the snow is left without its attention, whether it be a tussock, a bunch of grass, a bush or a haystack. Often, especially in deep snow, the animal moves in the ground, using roads and ski tracks.

She loves to climb various elevations and explore the area from them.

After mouseling, she leaves holes in the snow with the remnants of the earth, through which she caught mice.
After hunting, the fox goes to the hay, which settles under a bush, near a tussock, usually on a hill, stacks of hay or straw, and in the forest under a spruce.
The beast sleeps curled up in a ring and hiding its nose in its tail. An empty bed is a round hole, the snow does not melt in it.
At the end of winter, when fox weddings take place, several chains of footprints can be seen nearby in the snow.

Foxes have few enemies. From predatory mammals poses the greatest danger to her, sometimes lynx and wolverine attack. From birds - large predators: eagles and sea eagles, and more often their prey is cubs.
Animals living near human habitation may be at risk from stray dogs.
Feed competitors are all species of mustelids and canines.

Animals in nature are prone to various diseases. The most common is rabies. Other well-known diseases include neuroviral disease, canine distemper, and leptospirosis. In some years, they become infected with a large number of fleas and ticks, the latter causing scabies.
Outbreaks of epizootics that cause mass death of animals arise due to an increase in the number of foxes, against the background of mass reproduction mice and then their disappearance.
Life expectancy in captivity can reach up to 20-25 years, in nature they live much less, usually no more than 5-6 years.

Meaning and hunting

Fox - valuable fur animal. At the end of the 19th century, more than a hundred of them were mined annually in Russia. In the Soviet Union after the war, the harvesting of her skins took fourth place and amounted to about half a million pieces annually. The largest number has been mined and is currently being mined in southern regions, there are few skins coming from the northern regions, but they are much more expensive.

In addition to valuable fur, it brings tangible benefits, destroying small rodents. In a year, she alone can eat up to 3,000 voles and mice.
The percentage of her obtaining useful game animals and birds is not great.
The greatest danger is the transmission by the fox of some infectious diseases, especially rabies.

There are quite a few ways to hunt it, the most popular are the following:

trap fishing,
-hunting with burrowing dogs,
,
- hunting from the approach,
- on a seat,
- with flags.

Fox- one of the most popular heroines of children's fairy tales. But the Fox, as a fabulous image, is endowed with features characteristic of these animals in reality. The fox is beautiful: a magnificent tail, which is a little less than half the length of the body, a red coat and a roguish narrow-nosed muzzle with beautiful brown eyes. Besides A fox slim, graceful, weighs 6-10 kilograms.

What does a fox look like

fox they also call it red, and this is actually true, only her belly is white, gray or slightly brownish, and her chest is light. The back and sides of the Fox are colored differently in different parts: from bright red to gray.

Such Foxes have been bred many years ago on fur farms, black-brown Foxes are very rare in nature.

Fox habits

The fox is a good hunter. In addition to being observant and quick-witted, she has an excellent visual memory, a good sense of smell and sharp hearing. The mouse squeaks a little, and fox hears it is a hundred meters away, a vole rustles on dry grass under a half-meter layer of snow - and hears it. It climbs well on steeps, swims, and on the shore it is exceptionally maneuverable. Her ingenuity on the hunt or when escaping from her pursuers is admirable.

There was, and still is, an opinion that the fox food - hares. Of course, the Fox loves the hare, but she can not catch up with the hare often - where can she keep up with such a runner.

However, Foxes do well without hare. It is estimated that there are more than 300 different animals in the diet of the Fox, from insects to large birds.

After the rains, the fox collects earthworms in abundance. in shallow water Fox successfully catches fish, crayfish, takes out shells. It happens that half-eaten prey remains, and then the Fox hides it, taking it to different places. Then she will certainly find these reserves and eat them.

It is characteristic that, being a typical predator, the Fox is happy to eating berries, apples, some vegetables.

Fox hunts, as a rule, at dusk and at night, during the day it can be seen only in a low-feeding period, most often in winter, and even in summer, when foxes grow.

Norami the fox uses mainly during the rearing of offspring, and the rest of the time it prefers to rest in the open: under the roots of a twisted tree, in a ravine, on a haystack.

fox breeding

fox cunning

Being a typical predator, the Fox eats berries, apples, and some vegetables with pleasure.

Little foxes they fight well with pests such as May beetles.

Compared with other predators, the fox is ordinary, red ( Vulpes vulpes) gives the impression of an affectionate animal. But the features of its structure and life indicate that it is a rather vicious predator. It is not for nothing that in fairy tales she is called either a fox-sister, or a cunning fox.

Like grey Wolf, the common fox belongs to the canine family and its appearance resembles a dog, but differs from it in very characteristic features.

Brief description of the fox

The common fox is an animal of medium size, the length of which is about 90 cm. The body is elongated, slender, flexible, portly. The muzzle is elongated, sharp. The ears are large, pointed, always alert. The legs are relatively short, which provides the ability to crawl when the fox sneaks up on prey and attacks it. At the same time, the legs of an ordinary fox are sinewy and strong, which allows it to make sudden long jumps. In jumping helps her fluffy tail, which exceeds half the length of the body.

Thanks to these features, the fox is ordinary, not having such strength as that of brown bear and other animals, such strong fangs, like those of wolves, and retractable claws for capturing prey, like those of wild cats, are not inferior in their vitality to other predatory animals of Ukraine. The body of the common fox is covered with thick fur of bright red color, quite changeable. It varies not only depending on the time of year, but also on the area in which foxes live. In the northern regions, the colors of the foxes are redder, in the southern regions they are paler. The color of the tail is somewhat darker, and its tip is always white.

Where does the common fox live?

The red fox is one of the predatory animals of Ukraine, widely distributed throughout the territory. The fox lives mainly on open area, which is interspersed with groves, copses. In burrows, she hides from persecution, bad weather, and during the breeding of young animals. In warm sunny days the common fox is resting on the ground after night wanderings. Go hunting, usually in the evening.

What does a fox eat in the forest?

A very cautious and secretive animal with a well-developed sense of smell and exceptionally sharp hearing, an ordinary fox easily finds a wide variety of prey, often sneaking up on it unnoticed. The fox in the forest feeds mainly on various mammals: from small shrews to young hares and even roe deer calves. Especially a lot of fox catches mouse-like rodents - mice and voles. Fox hunting for rodents even got special name"mouse" (exceptionally dexterous and skillful). It is especially typical for winter period in the forest. In the snow, in the places of mouse-mouse, where the common fox dug up rodents from under the snow, one can see its numerous, traces that stretch in a chain, which is formed during its run. The traces of the hind legs exactly fall into the traces of the forelegs.

From the trace of a wolf or a dog, the traces of an ordinary fox differ not only in their smaller size, but also in their character.
a separate print (on the fox's footprint, the prints of the pads of the two middle fingers of the paws are pushed forward so much that a match can be placed between them and the prints of the pads of the two lateral fingers).

Of lesser importance in the diet of the common fox are birds and their eggs, which they sometimes get from ground nests. She does not shun carrion. In summer, the fox also consumes various amphibians, lizards, beetles and their larvae. At this time and in the fall, they also eat berries: blueberries, lingonberries.

fox breeding

Burrows in which the common fox arranges a den for breeding cubs, she usually digs in the most remote part of the forest, in the thicket of small forests, which alternate with cultivated fields, shrubs or meadows, on the slopes of ravines, on dry hills with sandy soil. The dug hole goes sloping 1-1.5 m deep, and then stretches underground for 3-4 m. Feature fox hole - several outlets. In such a hole, usually already at the end of March, once a year, the female, after an 8-week pregnancy, gives birth to five to six foxes. After 2 weeks, the cubs begin to see clearly, begin to develop rapidly, and already in late April - early May they crawl out of the hole, play with each other, and when tired, lie quietly, warming themselves in the sun.

The cubs do not leave the parental hole during the whole summer. In June, they already participate in the hunt with adults. Young foxes reach puberty at the age of two, but there are times when young females begin
breed the next year.

What are the benefits of a fox?

The common fox has a large economic importance as an exceptionally active fighter harmful rodents especially in the steppe regions. Interestingly, during the years of mass reproduction of rodents, the fox bites them much more than it can eat. Known Interesting Facts when a fox killed about 100 voles in one night. Feeding on insect pests, the fox benefits forestry protecting young forest stands from damage. Great importance It has Red fox and as a valuable hunting and industrial fur animal.

In the next video, see how an ordinary fox, or rather a whole family of foxes, has adapted to survive in its habitat. Possessing incredible cunning and dexterity, a fox can live next to a person and still go unnoticed.