Fox Facts
It’s a great shame that just about the only time we ever really hear about these beautiful creatures is simply as objects to be hunted and killed for fun or bred for their fur.
We’ve been hearing a lot about foxes recently. Unfortunately, it all seems to be in connection with The Hunting Act and the Prime Minister’s wish to amend it. It’s a great shame that just about the only time we ever really hear about these beautiful creatures is simply as objects to be hunted and killed for fun or bred for their fur so that heartless people can wear them.
Foxes are members of the dog family and are related to wolves, coyotes and raccoons. The female is called a vixen and the male is called a dog. Although they are related to dogs, they have some features that are more cat-like, such as their retracting claws, night activity, eyes that can see in the dark and vertical pupils. They are also only a little bit bigger than a cat. They have whiskers around their legs, as well as around their faces. These help them to find their way around.
You can find them living almost anywhere – countryside, cities, forests or grassland. The grey fox of North America can even climb trees! Their diet consists of berries, worms, spiders and small animals such as birds and mice. If they have too much food, they store it in a hole in the ground, so that they can come back to it at another time. Their countryside territory can cover over nearly 5000 acres!
Some amazing fox facts:-
• They have incredible hearing and can hear a watch tick 120 foot away.
• They can run 30 miles per hour.
• They use 28 different types of call to communicate with each other.
Foxes are just one of the beautiful and unique creatures with whom we humans share our world. Perhaps we should marvel at their beauty and respect them rather than hunting and killing them indiscriminately.
References:
http://www.onekind.org/be_inspired/animals_a_z/fox_red/
http://www.peta.org.uk/blog/10-fascinating-facts-about-foxes-with-photos/
http://foxproject.org.uk/foxy-facts-for-children/
© J.-L. Klein and M.-L. Hubert/FLPA