35 Amazing and Interesting Facts about Fox | Amazing Facts 4U
- Fox is a close relative of jackals, wolves, and dogs, all belonging to the canine family.
- Out of 39 described species, there are 12 true species of foxes that can be found on all continents. Foxes can survive in all types of terrains.
- They are native to North America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. They were introduced to Australia in the mid-19th century.
- Depending on the species, foxes range in size. They usually weigh about 6 Kg, like a small to the medium-sized dog and larger than a cat.
- Foxes are characterized by sharp muzzle and fluffy tails. The color of the fur can be red, brown, black, grey, silver, or white depending on their environment.
- Amazingly tip of the tail is always white. Tips of their ears and feet are always black.
- Foxes share some similarities with cats like retractable claws and vertical pupils.
- A female fox is called a Vixen while a male fox is called a Dog. A fox’s home is called a den or earth.
- Most species of foxes are solitary. Rare species live and hunt in small packs.
- Foxes can run very fast up to 30 miles per hour thanks to their slender body.
- Foxes use 28 different types of calls to communicate with each other
- Vertical pupils are typical for creatures that are active at night. Foxes see well at dim light. Besides good night eyesight, foxes have an excellent sense of smell and hearing being able to hear a watch ticking 120 feet away!
- Foxes have a specially adapted layer called the tapetum lucidum behind the light-sensitive cells which reflects light back through the eye. This doubles the intensity of images received by the fox.
- Foxes’ eyes glow green when light is shone into them at night.
- Foxes prefer meat and they will readily hunt birds, rodents, small mammals, and reptiles. They are also able to dig and eat human waste and different types of fruit and berries.
- The red fox has the widest geographical range of any animal in the order of Carnivora. Its flexible diet allows it to adapt to many environments.
- Grey foxes are the only members of the dog family that are able to climb the tree.
- The fennec fox is the smallest fox weighing just under 1.5 Kg. It has elongated ears and a creamy coat. It lives in the Sahara Desert, where it sleeps during the day to protect it from the searing heat. Its ears not only allow it to hear prey, but they also radiate body heat, which keeps the fox cool. Its paws are covered with fur so that the fox can walk on hot sand like it’s wearing snowshoes.
- The arctic fox, which lives in the northernmost areas of the hemisphere, can handle cold better than most animals on earth. It doesn’t even get cold until –70 degrees Celsius. Its white coat also camouflages it against predators. As the seasons change, the coat changes colors turning brown or gray so the fox can blend in with the rocks and dirt.
- In the 1960s, a Soviet geneticist named Dmitry Belyaev bred thousands of foxes before achieving a domesticated fox that is docile toward people from birth. They’re reportedly curious and sweet-tempered.
- Foxes dig underground dens, where they hide from the predators and take care of their babies.
- Typical predators of foxes are wolves, bears, and mountain lions.
- Foxes mate once per year the peak of the mating season being January. During that time, foxes produce screeching sounds that can be heard during the night and in the early hours.
- Pregnancy lasts 53 days ending with 3 to 6 pups. They are unable to see, hear or walk in the first couple of days of their life depending completely on their mother. The cubs’ eyes and ears open after two weeks and at four weeks.
- During the blind state, cubs stay with the vixen (female) in the den while the dog (male) brings them food. They live with their parents until they’re seven months old.
- Female foxes are occasionally assisted in rearing their cubs by a non-breeding sister or a female cub from a previous litter. These ‘aunts’ gain valuable experience which helps them to rear their own litter successfully the next season.
- When babies grow enough to be able to eat meat, the mother starts to vomit swallowed food to feed her pups.
- They catch small rodents with characteristic stalking and high pounce. This technique is one of the first things cubs learn as they begin to hunt.
- Foxes have whiskers on their legs and face, which help them to navigate.
- Foxes stink, their funny ‘musky’ smell comes from scent glands at the base of their tail.
- Like a guided missile, the fox harnesses the earth’s magnetic field to hunt. Other animals, like birds, sharks, and turtles, have this “magnetic sense,” but the fox is the first one that uses it to catch prey.
- The fox can see the earth’s magnetic field as a “ring of shadow” on its eyes that darkens as it heads towards magnetic north.
- The fox does not chew its food. Instead, it uses its sharp teeth to cut the meat into manageable chunks.
- Fox live up to 3 years in the wild and up to 10 years in captivity.
- Over the centuries the fox has been hunted for its fur. Fox hunting with dogs is still legal in places, such as Ireland, North America, and Australia.
We hope you will find your way to our website for more beautiful quotes: www.aspiringquotes.com
