Red Fox

photo by Andrew McKinlay CC BY-NC

Red Foxes are small dog-like mammals (18-34 in head to tail) with a sharp-pointed face and a long bushy tail. Despite their name, they may be brown, black, or silver. They can be found in a wide range of different habitats, including urban. They are mainly nocturnal animals so you're more likely to spot them at dawn or dusk.

Red Foxes feed on small animals such as mice or rabbits in fall and winter, switching to insects, plants, and berries in spring and summer. They have excellent sight, smell, and hearing and can locate small animals while still underground.

Red Foxes normally sleep in the open but find a sheltered spot (burrow, cave, under a building) to raise their young. Litters of up to 10 kits are born in early spring. The kits are completely grown by fall when they leave their family to find their own territory.

Could it be? Gray Foxes have shorter legs and a smaller snout than Red Foxes as well as a dark stripe along the top of their tail. They can climb trees.

Did you know? Red Foxes continue hunting and gathering food even when they're not hungry, storing it for their next meal.

See Also: Coyote, Swift Fox, Wolf