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information on the environment / eolas ar an gcomhshaol
WILDLIFE
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www.enfo.ie
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Foxes
Irish name:
Madra Rua
French name:
Renard
German name:
Rotfuchs
Description
Red foxes vary in colour frompale yellow to deep reddishbrown,with white or paleunderside.The tail is thick,longand bushy,almostalways with awhite tip.Fox’s ears are quitelong and pointed.
Body length50-100cmTail length30- 45cmHind Foot13-16cmPaw length5cmHeightatshoulder30-40cmWeight4 – 9 kg
Range & Habitat
After humans,foxes are one of the mostwidespread of animalson earth.They can live in deepforest,arctic tundra,opengrassland or city streets,buttheyprefer areas of highly variablevegetation.Their favourite placeto live is in or near scrub,woodland or other tallvegetation.In cities,urban foxesprefer areas of detached or semi-detached housing with largegardens.
A Fox’s Home
Foxes live underground in ‘dens’or ‘earths’.These are justlikerabbitholes only bigger.In fact,sometimes a den is made froman old rabbithole or a badger’sset.Foxes usually have a number of dens within their territory.Outside of the breeding season,they may spend much of theirtime above ground in thick cover.During the breeding season thevixen selects a den in which tohave her cubs,once born thecubs may be moved from den toden if disturbed.Many dens haveonly one or two entranceswhereas breeding dens may haveseveral entrances.In urban areas foxes live athigher densities than in thecountryside.This is probably dueto urban foxes having a moreregular source of food… thanks tous! In Dublin fox densitiesaverage around 1.04 fox familiesper km2.In rural areas densitiesmay be several times lower thanthis.
How to recognise a den…
Fox dens are often concealed inthick undergrowth and can behard to locate,unlike badgersetts,which are moreconspicuous.Often all thatisseen of the dens are runsthrough the undergrowth madeby foxes travelling to and fromthe den.
 
thatthey eatother animals aswell as plants.Among the fox’sfavourite foods are rabbits,birdsand small rodents,such as rats.Sometimes the fox gets a badname from farmers who blamethem for killing lambs andpoultry.Foxes in factrarely preyon lamb and itmakes up a verysmall partof their diet.Wherelamb or sheep is taken itis mostoften scavenged from animalsthathave already died fromother causes.Foxes do,however,prey on poultry and will takechickens or other poultry thatisnotproperly fenced in.Bird’s eggs are a real delicacy andvery nutritious too,so notsurprisingly,foxes will take themwhenever they can.A fox willbite into the egg so the wholeshell is broken and then lick upthe yolk and egg white off theground.Sometimes if a fox findsan egg butisn’thungry,itwillhide itunder some moss,as itistoo delicate to carry back to theden.In the summer and autumn,themany differentfruits and berriesavailable become a major partof the diet.In particular,cherriesand plums,which are eatenwhole from the ground.
Evidence of a kill
When a fox eats a mouse or asmall bird,there is rarely muchsign leftof the kill.The prey isusually eaten whole.The onlyevidence of a kill would be a fewtufts of fur,some feathers or afew drops of blood.For biggerkills itcan be equally difficultdetective work.Depending onhow hungry the fox is or how bigthe kill is,itmay decide to bringthe kill home to the den,leavingvery little trace above ground.More often than notthe fox willeathis kill above ground,leavinghints such as droppings or pawfemale (the offspring of aprevious year) will remain in theterritory and help to rear thecubs.Very occasionally twofemales may rear cubs in thesame territory or even in thesame den.Males fightto defend theirterritory during the matingseason in January and February.Afemale fox,a vixen,is pregnantfor 53 days and has a single litterper year.Cubs are born inMarch/April and the averagelitter is of 4-6 cubs.The tiny foxcubs only weigh 50-150 grams atbirth and are notable to opentheir eyes till they are atleast9-14 days old.At4-5 weeks of agethey are finally able to leave theden butstill need their mother tolook after them until they areweaned at8-10 weeks.Duringthis time the vixen may chooseto move her cubs several timesto differentdens for safety.The fox family stay together untilthe autumn,by which time thecubs are adultsized.Atthis timethe young will disperse from theparents range to find their ownterritory.Young males will moveup to 40km away and youngfemales up to 10km.Once the young have established a newterritory they will stay there forlife.The fox cubs will be matureenough by the following matingseason to starttheir ownfamilies.In captivity,foxes canlive for up to 12 years,butin thewild,with dangers like traffic,hunting and fights betweenmales,foxes typically only live for3 or 4 years.
Feeding habits
Foxes are nocturnal creatures –thatis,they are mostactive atnight.If undisturbed,they maybe seen during the day as well.Foxes are omnivores.This meansIn urban areas dens are usuallylocated in dense undergrowth orneglected gardens.Often urbandens may be located under shedsor other man-made features andoccasionally they are locatedunder or even inside houses! Foxden locations in Dublin haveincluded:gardens,sheds,compostheaps,a churchbasement,a utility room of aprivate house (amongstthelaundry!) and in a scrap car in a junkyard!
How to tell if a den is inuse…
•Stick your head a little into theentrance hole and have a good smell! If you geta sharp acrid ‘carnivore’smell then the denhas foxes in it.•Look for food remains likebones and feathers spread out around the entrance.This could mean thatthere are young inthe den.•In good weather foxes like todo a bitof sunbathing outsidethe den.Look for signs of trampled grass near theentrance.•
The droppings,urine and foodremains leftby foxes make forvery fertile soil.As a result,lotsof plants will be growingnearby,especially in spring,maybe even some unusualones thatneed very rich soil.
•In urban gardens fox cubsoften make their presenceknown through collecting toys,boots and other bric-a-brac,demolishing flowerbeds and rooting up lawns.
Family Life
A home range is typicallyoccupied by a breeding male,abreeding female and their cubs.Often a second non-breeding
WILDLIFE /
Foxes
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33
 
it’s easy
| to make a difference
When looking for fox tracks,becareful notto confuse them withdog tracks,as they are quitesimilar.Here is a table to help you tell the difference betweenthem.
Fox Track
Small pads (5cm in width aprox.)Frontpaws are distanced fromthe central pad  All the pads are spaced apart The claw marks are slender and long A fox’s track is more slender and elongated compared with thatof a dog
Dog Track
Large pads (size variable)Frontpaws are close to thecentral pad  All the pads are close together The claw marks are shortand rounded  A dog’s track is rounder and shorter than thatof a fox 
Droppings
Fox droppings can be quite easyto recognise,so you’ll know if afox has been about.They aresimilar to thatof a dog butarespirally twisted with a pointatone end.The colour can varybetween black and greydepending on whatthe fox hasbeen eating.Berries in autumngive a darker colour whereasanimal bones give a palerwhitish colour.Fur,feather andbone fragments of small animalscan be found in droppings all year round.In the summer,thehard outer skeleton of insectscalled chitin may be seen.Beetlesare a particular favourite.Because foxes use the distinctsmell of their droppings to markouttheir territory,droppings willcommonly be found in elevatedplaces such as tree stumps,tallgrasses or on large rocks.
Communication
Like all other mammals,foxesleave their distinctive smelleverywhere they go.Usually thisis to mark outtheir territory forother foxes.The smell includesinformation as to whether thefox is male or female,and howold and healthy or strong itis.During the mating season foxesgetparticularly smelly! Scentscan say whether a female ispregnantor even if she has young cubs.Scentis a veryimportantform of communication.
Fox talk
Foxes have up to 20 differentcalls,8 of which are justused bycubs.Foxes are actually quitequietin thatthey will only callaboutonce every five hours.Some of these calls are friendlyand can be quite complex,whereas others are aggressiveand much simpler.Here is a listof the 8 mostcommonly heardfox calls.
Barks/ yells:
By far the mostcommon calls.These areaggressive calls used to mark outterritory.
Shrieks:
By vixens to attractdogfoxes in winter;long callsstarting gradually making iteasyto find the caller
Growls:
Very like a dog’s growland also used as a threat
High whines:
Usually followbarks
Wow-wow barks/ staccato barks:
multiple barks (3-6),which canprints.However,the bones of larger animals will be discardedoutside the den when the meal isfinished,so thatwould be a goodplace to look to see whatyourfoxes have been eating.
Some Fox Foods
RabbitsEggsHaresInsectsRatsWorms MiceFruit HedgehogsScrapsBirds
Tracks
A track is the footprintan animalleaves in the ground.Did youknow thatfoxes have five toeson their frontpaws butonly fouron their hind paws? The fifth toeon the frontpaw is raised upthough,so itdoesn’tactuallyshow in the track.Unlike us theleftand rightfootprintor pawprintare almostidentical so itcan be difficultto tell them apartif you only find one print.Itiseasier to tell the fore and hindpaws apart,as the forepaw isslightly larger then the hind paw.
INFORMATION ON THE ENVIRONMENT / EOLAS AR AN GCOMHSHAOL
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