When my children were young one of their favorite movies was Disney’s “The Fox and the Hound” (1981). The story focuses on the unusual childhood friendship between a Red Fox called Tod and a hound dog named Copper, and the challenges they face to stay friends as they grow older and their natural instincts try to pull them apart. Although both the hound dog and the Red Fox are in the canine family, in reality it would be unlikely for a wild fox and domestic dog to snuggle together!
The Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) is one of three wild canines that live in Pennsylvania. The other two are the Gray Fox and the Eastern Coyote. They are shy, highly adaptable animals, sometimes living very close to humans. They can do this since they are primarily nocturnal. Last year near my home, I found a den in a local park, where a pair successfully raised three pups within a few yards of several houses.
Although they can tolerate human populations, their preferred habitat consists of farmlands, mixed with small woodlots, old fields and nearby streams. If there is plenty of available food and sufficient cover, there may be a chance that a Red Fox could live there.
Although the Red Fox is considered a carnivore, they are really “opportunistic” animals. They have no problem catching and eating mice, voles, rabbits, squirrels and birds, but will also dine on bird eggs, fruit and even scavenge on dead animals if necessary. They will store any uneaten food by burying it in loose dirt/leaves, called a cache.
Biologists have found that Red Fox may travel five miles or more each night, searching for food. In Pennsylvania, both males and females look alike with reddish-orange fur, black legs, feet and ears, and a white tip on a bushy tail. Their thick fur makes them appear bigger and heavier than they really are. Adults may measure 20 to 35 inches from nose to tip of tail, and weigh approximately 10 to 12 pounds.
They are also extremely intelligent animals with a keen sense of sight, smell and hearing. So, if a person says you are “sly as a fox,” just accept it as a true compliment!
Red Fox are very vocal mammals, especially when breeding season rolls around, usually in late winter. Males will bark and yip on cold winter nights to let females know they are available. After males and females pair up, they will dig out an old groundhog burrow, or use a hollow log for a den. Young are usually born in March or April, and will stay with their parents for several months, hunting for food until late summer.
Red Fox populations are cyclic, going up some years, then dropping years after. Natural mortality occurs due to starvation, disease and predation by their larger relative, the Coyote. Call it coincidence, or direct evidence, but I haven’t seen as many Red Fox in my travels as I have in years past, and, consequently, I’ve had more sightings of Coyotes than I ever remember. I’m sure Coyotes will catch and eat a fox if it can, but my guess is that they are competing for the same food, and the larger, more aggressive Coyote will usually win out.
In addition, Red Fox populations are also impacted by humans as well, due to vehicle strikes, hunting/trapping and habitat loss.
As the last rays of sun fade on the western horizon, Mr. Bushy Tail begins his nightly journey. His route takes him through familiar woodlots, along cornfields and across many small streams. His keen sense of sight, hearing and smell allows him to stalk prey in the shadows of darkness, and sometimes through the illumination of our cozy neighborhoods.
The Red Fox may have adapted to “suburban life,” but I still cherish each time I can catch a glimpse of this beautiful, wild creature!
Rich Wood is Region Manager with the Montgomery County Division of Parks, Trails and Historic Sites. He has a B.S. in Environmental Education/Interpretation from Penn State and enjoys all things outdoors.
