Red fox classification. Conservation status of the species. Red fox enemies

Foxes (foxes). Foxes are generally smaller and more graceful than wolves and dogs, and big booty they're not up to it. Their legs are short, and they run poorly, hunting more often from ambush, competing with the victim not in speed, but in agility. For foxes, vegetable food is also important.

The most famous representative of the fox genus is the red (common) fox, which lives throughout Eurasia, in North America and in northern Africa. Foxes live almost everywhere: in forests, in the tundra, in the southern steppes, in the mountains and in deserts. The favorite prey of American foxes are rabbits, they are small and not very fast. In European forests, the place of rabbits is occupied by hares, but a rogue rarely manages to catch a hare - it runs too fast with a scythe, and it is also large. Most often, mice and voles get to the fox for lunch. In summer, foxes eat a lot of fruits, catch frogs and insects, dig out worms. All food for this omnivorous beast! Foxes live alone or in pairs. A family of foxes, in anticipation of offspring, settles in a hole. A fox can dig a hole itself, but more often it occupies other people's holes, having a bite before a housewarming former owner. Both the female and the male take care of the cubs.

The short-legged fox is an unimportant runner, and the famous fox cunning rescues her on the hunt. Sensing prey from afar, the fox is able to sneak up unnoticed and deftly grab an unsuspecting victim. For hours she sits in ambush at the rabbit hole, determining by smell that the owner of the house, and will grab him as soon as he leans out. Running a race with a fast hare, the fox will deceive him with a cunning maneuver, jump out of his way and grab him. And how chickens steal! Straight from under the noses of yard dogs.

Desert foxes

The red fox is the largest of the fox family. Her most close relative- Korsak - maybe even get her lunch. Korsaks are found in the steppes and semi-deserts of Eurasia. They spend the day in burrows, escaping in them from the heat in summer, from frost in winter, and at night they go out to catch ground squirrels, jerboas, gerbils and other small rodents, as well as lizards, snakes and birds.

Next to the corsac lives a small Afghan fox with a very long fluffy tail and dark hair. American foxes are also small, living in the steppes and deserts of North America. Their main enemies are coyotes. Having learned to escape from them, American foxes have become the fastest of the foxes: they run away from predators at speeds up to 60 km / h.

Like other foxes living in the steppes, deserts and savannahs, corsac, Afghan and American foxes are distinguished by large ears. Such ears-radiators protect the inhabitants of the desert from overheating: the blood, passing through the ears, cools in the air and, returning to the body, cools it. The smallest fennec fox from the African Sahara desert has the largest ears. These "locators" not only cool, but also catch the slightest rustle, helping the fox in the hunt. Fenechs hunt alone, although, unlike most foxes, they live in family groups of a pair of fenech and their offspring of different ages. Sometimes several fenech families live in the same hole, jointly take care of their offspring, protect their site, and repel predators.

Near the fennec there is a short-haired sand fox. Where the Sahara passes into the grassy savannah, lives african fox, and even further south, in the savannah - a small big-eared fox. In spite of resemblance with a fennec fox, the big-eared fox is so unique that it was singled out in separate genus. The teeth make it unique - the big-eared fox has 48 of them, more than any other animal.

foxes

Arctic foxes are polar foxes, which life on Far North transformed so much that they were identified as a separate genus. The arctic fox has short legs so as not to freeze, small ears hidden in thick winter fur, and a short muzzle. A luxurious white winter coat with a thick undercoat both warms the fox and hides it among the white snows. By the summer, the fluffy fur will come out, giving way to a light dark coat, masking the animal among stones and grasses. From a white fluffy ball, the arctic fox turns into a brown, lean animal. The Arctic fox is the only one of all dogs that changes coat color depending on the season. He needs disguise both for ambush hunting and for escaping from large predators- Foxes are attacked polar wolves, polar bears, wolverines and even fellow foxes.

Arctic foxes are the northernmost of all canines, they even go over the ice of the ocean arctic islands beyond the polar circle. Arctic foxes are attracted to the pole by following the polar bear - they eat up the remains of the bear's meals - half-eaten carcasses of seals. In winter, in search of food, arctic foxes make long journeys across the tundra and ice. The main prey of the arctic fox is small tundra rodents lemmings. On the coasts, they feed on washed ashore or caught fish and algae, sea kale. By spring, arctic foxes return to those places of the tundra where they were born, create married couples and acquire offspring. In summer, there is more food for arctic foxes - these are birds nesting on the ground, their eggs, grass and berries.

The offspring of arctic foxes are bred in burrows. There are few sandy hills suitable for burrowing in the tundra, and there several fox families form colonies, occupying the same burrows for centuries. Expanding old shelters, arctic foxes turn the interior of their native hill into an underground labyrinth. Each family has its own “apartment”, where, depending on the “harvest” of lemmings, from 2-5 to 15 cubs appear. Their eldest daughters, one-year-old females left in the family, help their parents look after the offspring.

gray fox

In the south of North America, where there are no ordinary foxes, animals of a special kind of canine family have settled - gray foxes so named for the color of their coat. These small foxes are the only canine foxes that can climb trees. On the branches they rest, hide from large predators, hunt squirrels and birds, destroy nests. But gray foxes live on the ground, in burrows, where they breed.

south american fox

South American foxes are a separate genus of the canine family, uniting medium-sized foxes that are more like coyotes than their namesakes. These foxes inhabited different habitats and, having adapted to different conditions, formed several species. So, a large Andean fox settled in the mountains, in the Andes, at an altitude above 4500 m. stocky body and strong legs help her survive in the highlands.

The South American fox is more graceful, it lives in the south South America, having taken a fancy to thickets of bushes in hot Argentina, and tall-grass steppes of Patagonia, and cool forests of Tierra del Fuego. The graceful high-legged Brazilian fox lives in the pampas and hot savannahs, rainforests Amazonia is the habitat of the rare little fox.

The fox is one of the most beautiful predatory animals. She has a graceful elongated body, slender legs, a 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. The belly is more often white, 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

Habitat red fox 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.

IN 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.

Ordinary, or red fox - predatory mammal canine family, the most common and most large view kind of fox. Appearance The color and size of foxes vary in different localities; in total there are 40-50 subspecies, not taking into account smaller forms. In general, as you move north, the foxes become larger and lighter in color, and as you move south, they become smaller and more dull in color. In the northern regions and in the mountains, black-brown and other melanistic forms of fox coloration are also more common. The most common color: bright red back, white belly, dark paws. Often foxes have brown stripes on the ridge and shoulder blade, similar to a cross. Common distinguishing features: dark ears and a white tip of the tail. Outwardly, the fox is a medium-sized animal with a graceful body on low paws, with an elongated muzzle, sharp ears and a long fluffy tail. Molting begins in February-March and ends in mid-summer. Immediately after this, the fox begins to grow winter fur, in which she is fully dressed by the turn of November and December. Summer fur is much more rare and short, winter - more dense and lush. Foxes are distinguished by large auricles-locators, with which they pick up sound vibrations. Ears for foxes are a "catcher" of prey. The vocalization of the red fox is the same "oooo" as that of a wolf, only lower.

Nutrition The fox, although it belongs to typical predators, eats a very diverse diet. Among the food that she eats, more than 400 species of animals alone have been identified, not counting several dozen species of plants. Everywhere the basis of its nutrition is small rodents, mainly voles. It can even be said that the state of the population of this predator largely depends on the sufficiency of their number and availability. This applies especially to winter period when the fox lives primarily by hunting field mice: the beast, smelling a rodent under the snow cover, listens to its squeak, and then dives under the snow with quick jumps, or scatters it with its paws, trying to catch prey. This method of hunting is called mouse hunting. More large mammals, in particular hares, play a much smaller role in nutrition, although in some cases foxes purposefully catch them (especially hares), and during a hare pestilence they can also eat corpses. Sometimes big foxes can attack roe deer cubs. Birds in the fox's diet are not as important as rodents, although this predator will never miss an opportunity to catch a bird that is on the ground (from the smallest to the largest, such as geese and capercaillie), and also to destroy the laying of eggs or flightless chicks. The fox can also steal domestic birds, but, according to the observations of zoologists, it does this much less often than is commonly believed. In deserts and semi-deserts, foxes often prey on reptiles. In Canada and northeast Eurasia, foxes that live along big rivers, seasonally eat almost 100% salmon fish which died after spawning. Almost everywhere in the summer, foxes eat a lot of beetles and other insects. In the end, they willingly use carrion for food, especially during hungry periods. Vegetable food - fruits, fruits, berries, less often vegetative parts of plants - are part of the diet of foxes almost everywhere, but most of all in the south of the range; however, nowhere do they play a key role in the subsistence of representatives of this species.

reproduction Like the wolf, the fox is a monogamous animal that breeds only once a year. Rutting time and its effectiveness depend on the weather and fatness of the animals. There are years when up to 60% of females remain without offspring. Even in winter, foxes begin to search for places in order to bring out young animals, and zealously protect them. There are practically no ownerless holes at this time, in the event of the death of one female, her dwelling is immediately occupied by another. The female is often courted by two or three males, bloody fights occur between them. Foxes - good parents. Males take an active part in the upbringing of offspring, and also take care of their girlfriends even before the appearance of foxes. They improve burrows, even catch fleas from females. In the event of the death of the father, another single male takes his place, sometimes the foxes even fight among themselves for the right to become a stepfather. Pregnancy in foxes lasts 49-58 days. In a brood there are from 4-6 to 12-13 puppies covered with dark brown hair. Outwardly, they resemble wolf cubs, but differ in the white tip of the tail. At the age of two weeks, the cubs begin to see and hear, their first teeth erupt. Both parents take part in the upbringing of foxes. The father and mother are extremely careful at this time, and in case of a threat they will immediately transfer the cubs to the spare hole. They also have to hunt around the clock to feed their offspring. Growing puppies begin to leave the "home" early and are often found far from it, while still very small. For a month and a half, the mother feeds the cubs with milk; in addition, parents gradually accustom the cubs to ordinary food, as well as to obtaining it. Soon, the grown foxes begin to go hunting with their father and mother, playing among themselves, pestering the elders, sometimes endangering the whole family. From the time of the rut to the final exit of the fox cubs from the hole, about 6 months pass. By autumn, the cubs are fully grown and can live on their own. Males leave for 20-40 kilometers, females - for 10-15, rarely 30 kilometers, looking for a plot and a mate. Some females start breeding from the next year, in any case, reach sexual maturity at the age of two. A fox weighs 5-8 kg. Behavior

The fox, moving calmly, walks in a straight line, leaving behind a clear chain of tracks. A frightened animal can run very fast, galloping or literally sprawling above the ground, with its tail fully extended. Of the senses, the fox has the most developed sense of smell and hearing; vision is much less developed - therefore, for example, a fox can come very close to a stationary or standing man from the windy side. During the rut and just in a state of excitement, the fox emits a jerky loud bark; foxes, when fighting, squeal piercingly. The voice of the female and the male differs: the female makes a triple “vlay”, ending with a short howl, the male barks in the manner of a dog, without a howl. Many foxes, especially young ones, lie down for a day in a field if it is located near a forest and is rich in rodents. Before settling down under a bush or a hillock, the fox, frozen in place, examines the surroundings for a long time for danger. Then he curls up, covering his nose and paws with his tail, but before falling asleep, he looks around the area several more times. Also, foxes like to rest in dense thickets, ravines and other hard-to-reach places. Foxes hunt in different time days, preferring, however, early morning and late evening, and where they are not pursued, they meet during the day, and without revealing anxiety when meeting a person. Otherwise, these animals are distinguished by extreme caution and an amazing ability to hide and knock off the chase - that is why in the folklore of many peoples the fox is the embodiment of cunning and dexterity (the Japanese spirit is a werewolf Kitsune, the European one is Verfuks). Foxes living near hiking trails, boarding houses, in places where hunting is prohibited, quickly get used to the presence of a person, are easy to feed and can beg. It is assumed that foxes have a sense of the magnetic field.

Fox ordinary or red ( Vulpes vulpes) is a widespread predatory mammal of the canine family.

The fox is familiar to everyone, at least in Russian folk tales, where she invariably takes the place of a cunning, quick-witted and far-sighted hero, where she is usually referred to respectfully - Lisa Patrikeevna. In fact, this animal the size of a small dog is indeed smart, but not as smart as our usual pets, dogs and cats, are smart. However, the fox is smart enough to successfully survive the Russian frosts and find food even in the most treeless areas.

Foxes who have learned to adapt to a variety of climatic conditions, are extremely widespread. Their habitat is almost the entire territory of Europe and Asia, North America and in North Africa. These animals successfully acclimatized in Australia, where they were brought in the middle of the 19th century.

The fox lives in a wide variety of places - from mountains and southern steppes to taiga open spaces and tundra. These predators can be met both where no human has gone before, and near rural outskirts. Being an ecologically plastic animal, the fox adapts surprisingly well to a variety of habitat conditions, but prefers open landscapes: forest splits, hills, ravines, fields, forest-steppes. She does not really like the deaf taiga, snowy areas and the desert.

Description of the fox

The common fox is the largest species of the fox genus. The body length of the beast is 60-90 cm, weight - 6-10 kg.

The color and size of foxes vary from place to place. There is a pattern: the further north, the larger and brighter colored foxes are, the further south, the smaller the size of the animal, and the fur loses its brightness, fades. The most popular color of foxes is a bright red back with a blurry dark pattern, a white (rarely black) belly, and dark paws. In southern latitudes, the color of fox fur varies from light gray to sandy yellow.

The undoubted decoration of any fox is the tail: fluffy, with white underfur and a black tip. Sometimes in length it is almost equal to length animal body.

The body of the fox is light, dry and mobile: the animal is able, bending, to spread along the ground when hiding prey and stretch out when running fast at a gallop. The legs are thin and sinewy, flexible at the joints. Like most animals that can run fast, the fox runs on its toes. This explains the calloused, hard soles and short, blunt claws. long length and the strength of the hind legs contributes not only to rapid movement on even ground, but also to making unexpected jumps and turns, in which a long tail works like a steering wheel and helps maintain balance. The same tail, fluffy, like most of body, serves as a blanket for the fox during sleep. Curling up in a ball and wrapping its tail in front, the fox uses it as a muff, plunging the most chilled parts of the body into long soft hair - legs and a muzzle covered with short hair. If you look closely at the head of the animal, it is easy to catch here main features predator. Relatively large and set straight ears indicate excellent hearing, a strongly protruding muzzle with thin nose- about no less perfect sense of smell, lively, yellow and slightly slanting eyes with a slit-shaped pupil (set vertically, like in cats, but a little more rounded) - about vision adapted to the dark.

Fox lifestyle

Foxes tend to lead night image life, but there are those who hunt in search of food in the morning and afternoon, and sleep at night.

Foxes can dig very long and multi-chamber burrows in the slopes of ravines or hills, but they are not used as a permanent home. Burrows serve for breeding and sometimes as a shelter from danger. Here the female whelps - brings 5-6 foxes. For safety, the fox hole has several exits - otnorkov. The cubs live in the main chamber underground, but they can escape from the enemy (for example, from the fox terrier, a breed of dog specially bred for hunting foxes) through emergency exits. Sometimes the fox uses other people's holes - badgers or marmots, driving out clean owners with its sharp and strong smell.

Foxes do not hibernate. Throughout the cold season, they wander around their territory, and they rarely use their burrow.

The fox is a cautious animal, but at the same time it does not hold curiosity. An empty tin can, a colored piece of paper - no matter what she meets on her way, she will definitely explore. What motivates a fox when she goes out to the noise of a car or train - simple curiosity or curiosity related to personal safety? The beast seems to be checking who appeared in the forest and from whom to expect trouble.

Each animal has its own plot on which it lives and earns its own food, and if the "boundaries" were violated by another fox, the integrity of the territory is restored through a brawl.

What do foxes eat?

Fox - typical predator. Its main and most constant prey are mice, for grasping which both thin incisors and narrow muzzle are excellently adapted.

In winter, you can watch the fox mouse. If the snow is shallow, then the animal senses a mouse under it, and from above “follows” with the help of smell the movement of prey under the snow cover. The fox stands on its hind legs, waits, and then abruptly, in a jump, rushes with its front paws to the place where the victim hid under the snow layer. Only the difficulty of obtaining mice in the snow or in the numbers necessary for feeding puppies usually forces one to turn to catching birds and large rodents.

In general, the fox is an omnivore. Everything that falls alive under her paw goes to food: from snails and beetles to hares and black grouse sleeping under the snow. It happens that Patrikeevna visits chicken coops, as well as city dumps, where there is always something to profit from. She does not disdain and vegetable feed - berries and fruits. The animal gladly catches fish and crayfish, and sometimes even digs up earthworms.

The fox has a big economic importance as an exterminator of rodents and pests. At the same time, foxes are carriers of an acute infectious disease - rabies.

Family matters

"Wedding time" for foxes begins in February-March. Several males take care of one female at once, without leaving her a single step. Fights for the "beloved" between males are inevitable at this time. The strongest of the strongest becomes the father of a family, in which there are usually 4-6 puppies, sometimes more (up to 12-13). The duration of a fox's pregnancy is 52-56 days. Puppies are born blind and deaf, but covered with fluffy brown fur. Already by the twentieth day, the cubs begin to crawl out of the hole, but even up to a month and a half they continue to feed on mother's milk. It becomes more and more difficult to feed the rapidly growing young, and parents (and both mother and father take part in the upbringing of the younger generation) begin to teach them the tricks of hunting. Now the puppies are already running away from the hole for a decent distance and begin to catch small animals - beetles, grasshoppers, etc. Usually, by August, the young growth grows so much that they can already live on their own. Foxes become sexually mature at the age of one year.

Under natural conditions, the life expectancy of a fox is rarely more than 7 years, but in captivity they can live up to 20 years. This difference is due to the fact that in nature this beast itself can become the prey of larger predators - bears, wolves, wolverines, and even birds - hawks, eagles, falcons and golden eagles, and for amateur hunters, the fox is a welcome hunting trophy. Some people keep foxes as pets, although the phrase " domestic fox' is rather debatable. But nevertheless, in captivity, foxes live much longer for obvious reasons - a person takes care of them, they live in peace, do not waste energy searching for food, etc.

Who in childhood did not listen to fairy tales from the mouth of his mother, in which the main actor was it a fox? Such people simply do not exist.

In all fairy tales, the fox is described as a cunning red-haired beauty who can incredibly deceive and eat her victim. And these stories are actually not far from the truth. fox wild animals, namely, they will be discussed now, they have just a gorgeous red coat, which becomes thick and lush in winter.

The color of the coat varies, depending on the habitat of the animal, from bright red to paler. The tail is always darker, and its tip is painted white. This is the color of the fur coat in the wild.

Pictured is a wild fox

Those that are grown specifically on farms are most often platinum or silver-black (black-brown) in color. Such animals are highly valued in the fur industry. The size of the fox is small.

Pictured is a silver fox fox

She is slim and mobile. The length of her body is approximately 90 cm, she weighs from 6 to 10 kg. She is flexible and poised. Thanks to the relatively short legs, it is easy for the animal to creep up on its prey and attack it unnoticed.

But, despite the fact that the legs are short, they are very strong and muscular, which helps to jump suddenly and far in length. The muzzle of the fox is elongated, with a graceful, thin nose. Ears rather big, always alert.

About the fox animal it cannot be said that she is strong, like, or has sharp fangs, like a wolf, or strong claws, like wild cats, but her vitality is not inferior to these predatory animals in anything.

Features and habitat of the fox

fox forest animals They live almost everywhere on the planet, except for arctic tundra and islands. There are about 11 species and 15 subspecies of this animal.

This wild predator loves the tundra, taiga, mountains, deserts, steppe. Everywhere he can adapt and arrange his own home. The closer she lives to the North, the larger her size, and the color of her coat is brighter and richer.

Conversely, in southern regions the fox is smaller, and its color is paler. They are never tied to any particular place of residence.

Thanks to their amazing ability to adapt, they can live a thousand kilometers from their real homeland.

The nature and lifestyle of the fox

The fox most often prefers to get its food during the day. But she has absolutely all the necessary skills for night hunting, which she sometimes does. Her sense organs are very highly developed, many predators can envy them.

The vision of the fox is on such high level that she sees everything even during rather poor visibility. Her ears, which are constantly moving, catch the slightest rustling, this helps the fox to notice rodents.

At the slightest hint of what is nearby, the fox completely freezes and tries to figure out in this position where and how the rodent is sitting.

After that, she makes a powerful jump and lands just on the victim, pressing her tightly to the ground. Each predator has its own territory marked with excrement. Many farmers consider this animal as a pest for Agriculture. This question can be considered from two sides, completely opposite to each other.

Yes, these predators are considered a threat. poultry, they can sneak into the chicken coop and steal it. But it was noticed that the fox chooses the weakest and most unadapted to life. On the other hand, the “red-haired beast” destroys rodents in the fields and next to the barns, which helps to save and double the harvest.

In the photo, a fox hunts a mouse

For foxes, a meeting with a puma and a person is very dangerous. In addition to the fact that people hunt the animal because of its beautiful valuable fur, pathos hunting has long been open to the animal, during which horsemen surround the fox and drive it to death.

It is this type of hunting that has been banned since 2004, but all its other types remain legal. This animal is revered. The fox for them is the God of rain and the messenger of the God of rice. According to the Japanese, the fox protects a person from evil and is a symbol of longevity.

Native Americans differed in their opinion about this animal. Those Indians who live closer to the North say that she is a wise and noble messenger from heaven. The tribes living on the plains claim that the fox is a cunning and vile predator that can lure a person into a deadly embrace in a matter of seconds.

For us, the fox is a wise, decisive animal with an incredible desire for action. IN fox animal world These are animals with great inner qualities and potential.

Fox food

Animal world fox It is designed in such a way that these predators are able to adapt amazingly and find a convenient moment for this even in the production of food for themselves. Their main food is rodents, various small animals. They will not refuse hunger and carrion, insects and berries.

Interestingly, before catching its prey, the fox fully studies its habits. For example, to feast on a hedgehog, which she cannot reach because of the thorns, she can sharply push him into a pond.

In the water, it turns around and the fox grabs him by the abdomen with lightning speed. wild foxes have to be caught in pairs. One distracts, the other sneaks up and suddenly attacks.

Rodents, on the other hand, cannot hide from foxes even under the snow. Incredible hearing calculates their any rustle. fox animal species, which, under no complex weather conditions will not go without food.

Pictured is a white fox

The fox is a smart animal. And it is this feature that is its main and hallmark. It helps the animal survive in any critical situation and find a way out of it.

White fox animal- is not mythical creature. In fact, these animals exist. They are very similar to their relatives with red hair. You can meet them in the tundra, in Scandinavian Kola Peninsula, in Polar Eurasia and North America, in the south of the Baikal region, in Japan.

Reproduction and lifespan of a fox

spring time is the period of birth of little foxes. Before the birth, mother foxes dig a large hole, or they can outwit someone and occupy his territory.

The gestation time is approximately 44-58 days. Usually 4 to 6 babies are born. For 45 days, a caring mother feeds her children with milk, then gradually accustoms them to solid food. After they are two years old, they become fully grown and independent, able to reproduce and get their own food.

In nature, foxes live for about seven years, at home, their life expectancy can reach 20-25 years. Foxes as pets- it's all quite real and possible. Only before you need to better learn how to properly care for them and follow some precautions.

The very first thing is that not every country is allowed to keep a fox at home, so you need to find out from competent people how things are in your country. The second and also important factor is the presence of a familiar veterinarian who will be able to examine the animal at any time, provide him with veterinary care, and make the necessary vaccinations.

The pet must have its own space. The fox needs to be provided with a den in which he can hide at any time, sand for a pot, on which he can be taught to walk very quickly.

How more people spends time with the fox, the closer the connection between them. Domestic foxes are not much different from and. You can also play with them and take them for a walk on a leash. Foxes buy an animal you can go to a pet store or find an advertisement for the sale of exotic animals.