Class:Mammals(Mammalia)
Order:Carnivores(Carnivora)
Family:Canidae
The red fox, or simply fox (Vulpes vulpes Linnaeus, 1758), is the largest of the true foxes. It is a carnivore with a vast range, being present throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, North America, and Eurasia. It is a canid with a strong ability to adapt, knowing how to survive in different environments, from forests to mountains, to the outskirts of urban centers.
Its throat, belly, and tail tip are white or light gray, and its tail is long and very bushy. Its muzzle is elongated and its ears are triangular and extremely mobile. There are 45 known subspecies of fox, whose fur color varies from reddish to yellow and brown, depending on the region.
Feeding
It is a small predator, hunting both day and night and feeding on rodents, hares and birds, reptiles and invertebrates. It also enjoys other types of food such as fruit, animal carcasses and edible waste. The amount of food consumed daily varies from 0.5 kg to 1 kg. In times of abundance, foxes store food for the future by burying it in small holes in the ground. They tend to hide food in many different places rather than in a single ‘large store’ and it is thought that they do this so as not to risk losing their entire supply at once (it is proverbial that they are cunning!).
Social behavior and relationships with humans
Red foxes usually live in pairs or small groups consisting of one male and several related females. After a gestation period of seven weeks, the female gives birth to an average of four cubs in a den, which she nurses for a month. At the end of this period, the cubs begin to eat their first solid food, consisting of food pre-digested by the mother and then regurgitated. This technique is very advantageous as it allows the litter to be fed without bringing carcasses close to the den, as the smell could attract predators to the pups, and at the same time ensures that the pups do not have to move around in search of food, exposing themselves to other possible dangers. During the first two weeks of the cubs’ lives, the mother never leaves them, devoting herself entirely to nursing them and being fed by the male. The cubs leave the den for the first time around the fourth or fifth week and are very playful.
In the wild, this species can live up to 12 years. Unfortunately, it has often been hunted as a pest or for its fur, but in agriculture it is very useful for its ability to rid fields of various species of rodents that damage crops. At the same time, however, it is feared by domestic animal breeders, as it is a wild species that is particularly adept at breaking into chicken coops. The protagonist of fairy tales and legends, the fox is an animal that can easily be encountered along the Cammino Naturale dei Parchi.
