Red Tailed Foxes

Foxes are in the same family as dogs, wolves, and coyotes. They usually don't bark like dogs, but they will do it only because they need to give a warning. Instead, they howl and whine. Red foxes are the kinds of foxes you see in Florida (yes, in Florida) but they aren't always "red". Sometimes they look kind of black or silver, but they always have white on the tips of their fluffy tails. A red fox is about three feet long from the top of it's nose to the end of it's bushy tail, but it weighs only about 10 pounds (mostly from all the fluffy fur) It looks like it should weight more, but they don't.

In the wild, foxes only live for about 5 years. Their main predator is man (yeah, that's us MEAN hunters who don't have lives and KILL) They are sadly hunted for sport, fur coats, shot by farmers, or hit by cars. They used to be hunted by bobcats, lynxes, panthers and wolves, but there aren't much of those left. When a red fox is scared, he usually doesn't go into his den. Instead he depends on his speed and intelligence so he can outfit this dangerous animal. Foxes are built to be long-distance runners, with tough toe pads and nard nails that stay out all of the time (like your dog)

Red foxes only use their dens to have their babies. The rest of the time, they find an open place in the grass or brush to rest. Resting in the open makes it easier for them to spot predators. Usually a fox den is an old burrow from another animal like a woodchuck or armadillo. The fox makes it bigger and adds extra tunnels. The den can habe up to 5 entrances, so the fox can make a quick and easy escape if it has to. Also, red foxes have more than one den, and often move the babies, called kits, around to different areas while they are growing up.

 Red foxes usually live and hunt alone until their breeding season, which is in December. Then the male and female stay together. The female is pregnant for 52 days, so the kit should be born in march. She feeds milk to the babies and keep them warm and clean. When the babies are about 6 weeks old, they start coming out of the warm den. They fight with each other to see who is the strongest. When they are about 3 months old, the parents bring in mice for them to practice hunting and eating. After 6 months, the kits are fully grown. In October, they head out for their own. Sometimes the girl kits will stay with the mommy and help her raise the next litter of kits during the following spring (how cute!!)